Birds of Prey: Rebirth
by Cobalt-Canary
Summary: My name is Sara Lance. After years of running, I've finally returned home. The only problem is my home is dying and its guardian archer has disappeared. This city needs a hero, that's where my friends and I come in, however, we aren't Team Arrow, we aren't even heroes. For now just call us the Birds of Prey. AU after season 1.
1. 1-1 Fledglings: Prey

**First, I'd like to thank highlander348 who helped me so much with the planning stage of this story! Also I'd like to thank my friend who edits the many, many grammar mistakes. They're awesome!**

 **I don't own Arrow; Sara would have survived "The Calm" if I did.**

* * *

 **Fledglings: Prey**

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Starling City was a beautiful city. While it lacked in the traditional coastline beauty of a beach area or the cozy feeling of a mountain area, it was far from a homely city. Courtesy of some dedicated architects, the stunning skyscrapers gave Starling an urban beauty. However, it seemed to take the saying "beauty is only skin deep" way too seriously. Also, the statement was past tense. **[1]**

If anyone wanted to see Starling's true nature, all they had to do was take a quick stroll to the heart of the city: The Glades.

Sure, cracks in Starling's mask were always visible, but for the most part, the cracks were mere hairlines. Maybe an astoundingly, observant person might suspect something was amiss, but overall they too would be fooled, unless they'd witnessed true darkness prior. Otherwise, The Glades was just another lie plastered over a dying land. Now even the densest person could identify Starling's true nature.

The foundation was already laid. A nice and shiny cover couldn't change what was inside. It couldn't change the truth. Beneath all the smiles and sunshine was every corruption known to man… you name it, Starling has it. For years the problems were on a slow boil, but it only took one second for everything to boil over.

In one brief moment, disaster stuck, an earthquake. Now make no mistake, despite earthquakes typically being defined or at least associated with natural disasters, it was anything but. It was all a product of one of Starling's very elite, Malcolm Merlyn, or as the media seems to prefer: The Dark Archer.

By his own admission, Malcolm saw his earthquake similar to the flood in the story of Noah. His vision was to destroy The Glades, the most corrupt part of the city. After a phoenix rose from the ashes, a new and more ideal city could rise. But to do so he was willing to sacrifice hundreds of innocent lives to punish the crimes of a few. Just as every story needs a villain, every story also needs a hero. The hero that night was Starling's guardian archer: The Hood. In an epic battle to decide the fate of The Glades, The Hood was victorious and his opponent was left bleeding out. But despite his efforts, 503 people were still lost.

But this isn't The Hood's or the Dark Archer's story.

If one was curious, this story starts on a rooftop.

And it's not just one person's story.

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

The funny thing about one's home: it's not a place.

It's cliché but true, home is simply where the heart is and the heart is with those one loves.

Some spend a lifetime searching for a place to call home. Others have homes and will always return, especially in times of crises. Just ask the birds. Every year birds fly south for the winter, but every single one of them returns to the same nest as soon as the weather heats up again.

The Canary was no exception.

The only problem was someone else had a similar idea.

Her name was Helena Bertinelli, or as she preferred now, The Huntress.

As her name implied, she was a hunter. Her prey was none other than her own father, Frank Bertinelli.

It was strange what humans could get used to, but most are creatures of habit anyways. So to The Huntress, hunting her father felt so natural. Helena was stubborn, very stubborn, as she was just fixated on one thing; the rest of the world was none of her concern.

So Helena found it even stranger to find a different prey to be fixated on.

Her prey was now a bird.

It had started about a few days after the earthquake. They were at a constant game of hunter and prey… the only question was, who was the hunter and who was the prey?

Once again, Helena became accustomed to a different routine.

If she was ever out and running around in her mask and leather, she knew now, the bird was watching. Unlike most songbirds, this one was quiet; she didn't appear unless Helena was on the losing side of a battle. Which she shamefully admits was a couple times in the past week. She also claims it's because she was distracted by said bird and normally she would have been just fine on her own.

A few times though, The Huntress did try to follow the bird after her fight ended, for the night at least.

Most of the time the bird managed to give her the slip; she just seemed to vanish like a ghost.

The few times she managed to follow the bird, she always joined in on the bird's fight. After all, a girl has to get her exercise.

But once the battle was over, the bird vanished once again.

However, for the past few nights, the bird was nowhere to be seen. **[2]**

Without the bird, Helena decided to return to her original hunt. As much as she'd hate to admit it, she had no clue where daddy dearest was hiding.

Helena hoped the earthquake would draw her father out, but the coward didn't dare make any appearances. Instead he just continued to hide in what ever rat hole he was calling home.

Another thing about Helena, she was impatient. Honestly, it was a miracle she managed to wait over a year for her father. She was the kind of person who was interested in results, how and why be damned. Impatient as Helena was, the extra time gave her a plan; the only problem was the reluctance outweighed everything else, until tonight where her patience's ran out.

She had a source, but that source had a guard dog. This wasn't the kind of dog who could be quieted by slipping it some steak either. What she needed was leverage, and Miss Laurel Lance fit the bill perfectly.

Helena assumed it be easy.

She landed on the rooftop with relative ease. The building she was on top of was the one directly across the street from Laurel's apartment. Using some binoculars to scan the prey's apartment, Helena made some observations:

1) Most lawyers in Starling have decent security, probably because of the number of enemies they make in a court room, on a daily bases

2) Laurel Lance was not one of those lawyers and her security sucked:

a) She only had one lock on her door that any second rate criminal could pick or break

b) The door wasn't sturdy either and could easily be smashed open if one was too lazy to pick the lock

c) Don't even get Helena started on the windows

However her analysis was cut short by a bō to her neck.

"What do you want with Laurel Lance?" It was a low whisper, but there was a threatening tone nonetheless.

That's when something clicked inside Helena's mind.

"Oliver must love dressing up his girls…" Helena muttered.

There was a slight hesitation before a little more pressure was applied to The Huntress's windpipe.

"What do you want with Laurel Lance?" The volume was the same, but unlike the last time, it wasn't a question but an order.

Not wanting to cause a scene, Helena motioned towards the staff. The pressure lessened but the staff was still pointed at her and gave The Huntress one quick and clear message: Explain, your life depends on it.

Before tonight, she never pegged the bird as a killer, but the icy blue eyes that stared into hers said otherwise.

"I wasn't planning to hurt her, I just needed some help."

"With?" The threatening tone was replaced with subtle curiosity.

"A hunt for justice." Helena chose her words very carefully, after all she didn't know if they would be her last.

More intrigued, the staff was lowered, but it was still pointed at Helena's chest. The Huntress took this as a signal of some sort, one that indicated while her life was no longer on the line, but she was still on oh so very thin ice. It also informed Helena she wasn't off the hook just yet with that short response.

Luckily for Helena a scream distracted both of them. The cry originated from Laurel Lance as she was being dragged in a truck by an old man in glasses.

Once again Helena took her eyes off the bird for a second and once again the bird's vanishing act occurred.

However there was a still small smirk of satisfaction, as The Huntress pulled out her phone. A digital map of Starling with two blimps appeared on the screen.

"I hate it when she does that."

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

Click

The sound of a key turning in a lock rang throughout a small, but empty apartment. A door was lazily pushed open and through the door came Quentin Lance. He checked his watch; it read 3:52 AM; it was a late night, even for him. As a detective, he was normally home around 2:00 AM; there were a few days where he'd be home around 3:00.

But now karma was a bitch. As the only cop who listened to The Hood, he was responsible for the many lives saved during the night of the earthquake. However, this also made Quentin Lance the only known associate of a criminal/vigilante. Corrupt as Starling was, laws that were broken in broad daylight were still punished, even if the laws broken in the shadows never faced repercussions. Quentin was wondering if "no good deed goes unpunished" should be the title of his autobiography… if he ever wanted to write that kind of crap.

Quentin was also one of the few generally good men in Starling, maybe even the only one in the police station. Luckily, as a cop and a citizen of Starling City, he was a noble, fair, and strong person. It didn't matter how many times a gun was shoved in his face and his life was on the line, all that mattered to him was at the end of the night the city was safe and criminals were served justice. Lance was a fighter and he knew even before he put the badge on he would die wearing it some day.

That was just the kind of person he was.

However, as a father, Quentin was only human.

The death of his youngest crushed the poor man. It didn't matter who shoved a gun in his face because his soul was in his children. So when Sara died on the stupid boat, Quentin started to break. Things only got worse when his wife left him. The only one who stayed was his oldest daughter, Laurel.

While his daughter wasn't always there, she did motivate him to pick up the pieces and move on.

If one were to receive a call in the middle of the night with news of a loved on captured as a part of a personal vendetta against you, the police have no idea where she is, and to top it all off you were powerless to stop it, you'd understandably be pissed.

Quentin, however, was not pissed, no he was furious… but according to him there wasn't a word in the English language to accurately describe his fury, so he settled with several: "Have a nice evening officer… and by the way, GO TO HELL!"

As a detective, Quentin was firmly on the side of the law. Things were simple, there were two kinds of people: those who uphold the law and those who broke it.

The Hood was one of the latter categories in detective Quentin's mind. After all, even though The Hood was helping some of the less fortunate in the city, he was still a killer. The Hood seemed to make "the ends justify the means" mindset, which really made him no different than Merlyn with a similar MO. Probably the best example was the fact The Hood let the leaders of the operations live and killed a bunch of the underlings and in a city like this one, not all of them would know the true nature of their operations. **[3]**

At least Lance wasn't that stubborn, after all, he did work with The Hood during the night of the earthquake.

The only thing was he thought it was going to be a one-time deal, but that was before Laurel was abducted.

Most people have their parents, children, siblings, spouse, and maybe even their work on speed dial, and while Quentin had all of the above also had a certain blonde IT girl.

"Miss Smoak, do you know where our mutual friend is?"

There was some yawning in the background and a few seconds to register who was calling and a few more to register what he was saying, "Wait… friend? I'm sorry, but are you two friends, because I mean thanks for the help with the earthquake and all, but you guys don't really fit the idea of… Sorry, um he's on vacation?"

"He seems to be on vacation a lot as of late."

"Yah, well I don't think I should really be giving you his whereabouts since you've tried to arrest him… several times… no offense, I mean it's your job, but…"

"Never mind then, sorry for waking you up Miss Smoak."

Quickly hanging up, Lance accidentally dropped the phone and dialed another number:

Thankfully NOT My Son in Law/Oliver Queen

'Well, this going to be awkward' Quentin dreaded.

Luckily, it went straight to voice mail:

"My name is Oliver Queen. For five years, I was stranded on an island…"

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

The Lance family must be cursed. If one were to consider the individual misfortunes each faced and totaled them up… well no one really has that kind of time…

Right now, Laurel would say tonight was somewhere in her top 3, even thought this night could possible be her last. To be fair she wasn't sure if the Gambit or the Undertaking was at the top of her top 3.

What also ran in the Lance family?

They were fighters.

Sadly, the leather bonds holding Laurel down didn't seem to care. But Laurel continued to struggle anyways. Any hopes of screaming for help were shot down by the plastic tube in her mouth, the same one that would soon deliver the highly flexible polymer down her throat.

"Stop struggling. After all, I'm doing you a favor. Beauty should be preserved not wither away."

Laurel's response was to knee him in the… special place.

A small amount of whimpering escaped before her captor muttered, "That was just rude! And uncalled for!"

It was the first time in the evening Laurel smirked a little, well as much as she could with the tube.

"You have such beautiful skin…" he said before pulling out a jar of a white, cloudy mixture.

A loud screech filled the air, which shattered the jar and The Dollmaker's glasses.

The Dollmaker made a wise decision and fled the area.

Unfortunately, he was an old and out of shape man, who needed to take a breather in ten seconds right before he left the area.

A silk scarf fell from the celling as a woman in black leather descended from it.

She quickly assembled her staff and whacked the guy in the back.

He stumbled over trying to regain his footing.

The vigilante wouldn't let him and swept him off his feet, literally with her staff.

Mathis landed by a steel poll, picking it up he decided to even the odds.

Two polls collided sending of a loud echo throughout the area, alerting the other two women of their whereabouts.

Watching the two, they were opposites. She was a graceful expert who landed on solid blow after another. He was a reckless novice whose blows were wild with excessive force, and only hit the other bō.

He was pushed into a corner; the only problem was: a cornered animal was also a very dangerous animal.

Yanking a nearby chain several thick steal polls landed on the woman, grounding the bird.

It was funny how quickly the hunter can become the hunted, as two arrows fired at his chest.

Light disappeared from his eyes.

The Huntress stepped out of the shadows, "There, we're even for all the nights you helped me."

However, the bird had already vanished from the pile of steel.

"That's just annoying."

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

The bird was perched on top of the roof watching the streets below. **[4]**

A police car stopped to pick up Laurel. From the back seat, her father raced out with tears of joy streaming down his face. As the two embraced a small smile formed on the bird.

"You can come out, you know," the bird simply stated.

The other person on the roof stepped out of the shadows, "I was hoping to pull that ninja act on you."

"Sorry, but you're foot steps are too loud."

"Noted."

"By the way you can have this back." A small round object was tossed back to the Huntress.

Inspecting the object, Helena asked, "How'd you know I put a tracer on you?"

A more amused smile formed, "If I couldn't detect a tracer on myself, I'd already be dead."

"So you've been doing this for a while?"

For some reason, the bird's eyes went several shades darker, "I met some rough people, figured I should get rough too."

"I get it, survival, right?"

"Something like that. Let me guess your 'hunt for justice'?"

Helena gave a wry reply, "give the girl a prize…"

"You plan on killing your father to avenge Michael."

The Huntress blinked, "Let me guess, Oliver told you?"

"No."

"Then how…"

"Both of your secrets aren't very secret, Helena."

Rolling her eyes, Helena removed her mask, "Doesn't matter, you still don't approve, do you?"

"I'm not really in a position to lecture someone else about morality."

"So, what do we continue this dance for a while?" Helena asked referring to their nightly routine.

"Whatever you want, honestly, but I'm probably not going to be around for long."

"Rough people?"

"Something like that. Or…"

"Or?"

"I owe you for tonight and from a past experience I'd prefer to pay debts sooner rather than later."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"I'll help you on your hunt then I'll leave."

Helena gave a smirk, "That's nice, but how do I know I can trust you?"

The bird gave a small smile as she removed her mask and wig.

"My name is Sara Lance."

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 **[1]** **I know I said Blüdhaven would be the setting, however that meant there wouldn't be very many Arrow characters for a while, so I thought I'd keep at least the first half of this story in Starling to avoid that problem. Blüdhaven will appear, either later in this story or as the setting for a sequel, depending on how this story pans out. highlander348 made an excellent point that helped me decide to make the story AU after season 1.**

 **[2]** **When Sara stopped appearing at night so much it was because she met Sin. Sara's routine was to watch her sister and father in the morning and fight crime at night. However, now she hangs out with Sin in the morning, crime fights in the early evening, and watches her sister at night.**

 **[3]** **This puzzled me constantly throughout season 1: Oliver kills the potentially innocent monks who were just doing their jobs, but lets the confirmed, corrupt leader live?**

 **[4] I realized around here I was calling Sara "the bird" a lot. The characters don't know her as The Canary yet since Laurel hasn't given Sara the name and "blond vigilante" was a bit of a mouthful.**

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 **The Legends trailer is awesome; so excited for January 21, 2016! Also, Flarrow episode next week! Update schedule will be a little more flexible than last story: at least one update ever other weekend there might be more depending on how free I am.**

 **Thank you for reading and please review!**

 **11/28/15**


	2. 1-2 Fledglings: One Little Step

**Thanks to my awesome friend who edits this story!**

 **I don't own Arrow!**

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 **Fledglings: One Little Step**

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A familiar feeling stirred within The Huntress, betrayal.

It was her.

Laurel's 'dead' sister. The woman Oliver used her grave to gain Helena's trust, to manipulate her.

Helena was always an 'actions speak louder than words' kind of girl, so it really didn't surprise her when her natural reaction was to fire an arrow right at Sara Lance's chest.

Despite the lack of warning, Sara caught the arrow with ease.

Helena charged and used her crossbow as a bat before Sara could get one word in. A solid hit landed on Sara's left arm.

However, the Canary returned the favor with a solid blow to Helena's stomach, which momentarily winded The Huntress.

Sara took this opportunity to grab Helena's free arm, to make sure another punch couldn't be thrown, but to also get The Huntress's attention.

"I am not your enemy." Sara sternly stated, locking eyes with Helena.

Helena however didn't see The Canary in credible light and struggled against the other woman's grip, but to no avail.

Instead, the cross bow was pointed right at the blonde's face.

In an instant, an arrow fired; Sara let Helena go and ducked.

The arrow grazed over her head.

Helena had wisely retreated to the other end of the roof.

'That seemed to piss her off. Good." Helena thought.

"She's definitely stronger than me. I'm also willing to bet faster too based off that ninja act. Her bō also is more suited for close range combat as opposed to my arrows."

Something in Sara's eyes changed, and a familiar icy gaze greeted Helena.

'It's best to keep a distance, and keep firing. It would take too long to reload. I've used four of my twelve arrows. Eight arrows to pin the bird.'

Said bird was also going with a similar assessment.

'I defiantly have the advantage if we went hand to hand. I could end it quickly if I had my bō, but it would take a few seconds to pull my bō out, and in those seconds, Helena could open fire.'

The Huntress started to fire arrows each trained on Sara Lance, who managed to narrowly dodge them.

'seven'

'six'

'five'

'The bigger problem is I have to get in close, but those arrows will make it harder. Unlike Oliver, she doesn't need to restring, no openings to take advantage of. If only I knew exactly how many arrows she had. But maybe…' **[1]**

Several arrows flew towards Sara, all from different directions.

'four'

'three'

'two'

The first, Sara managed to dodge.

A second arrow was caught.

The last managed nail one of Sara's legs, but as far as Sara was concerned, it was just a mild graze.

'I nicked a wing…'

Sara threw the arrow right at Helena, which was deflected in mid-air by another arrow.

'one'

Helena took the last arrow from the cross bow and charged at Sara.

Sara mainly focused on the arrow in Helena's hand and was careful to track its location throughout the wild punches and slashes thrown at her.

However, that meant Sara wasn't paying attention to Helena's legs, as Helena managed to land a solid blow where Sara was cut.

Sara fell over onto the roof.

Trying to quickly recover, she rolled to her side, but Helena had the arrow pointed at Sara's neck.

"Looks like I got you." Helena said with a smirk.

"Maybe… but looks can be deceiving."

A bright blue light flashed beneath The Huntress.

Expecting some kind of bomb Helena kicked to the part of the roof Sara laid, but the woman wasn't there.

Sensing someone behind her Helena spun around, to find Sara behind her with her bō unfolded.

Helena swiftly tried to stab Sara with the arrow, but a quick blow to the wrist forced Helena to drop the improvised dagger.

At this point, the devise started flashing red and blew up, Helena was knocked down on her back from the shockwave of the blast.

Sara held the staff out in front of Helena's neck.

"If this is about Oliver, then you should know I haven't talked to him for years, but either way, you need to calm down." Sara calmly stated.

"Or what, you'll arrest me? Kill me?" Helena asked.

"If it's possible, I'd want to avoid both of those options."

"Why?"

The bō was pulled away, "I'd say it's because I owe you, but that's no longer the case, since I'm going to spare you."

"So, what now?"

"Like I said, I could help you on your 'hunt for justice'." Sara quickly reminded her.

Helena rolled her eyes, "but you just said you don't owe me. Bored enough you want to do some charity work?"

"Let's just say, I think I've grown fond of you."

"Strange, is this before or after I tried to kill you?"

"You saved Laurel."

"Only because I was bored."

"If that's the story you want to go with…"

"What are you saying? Do you believe I had another motive?"

"Maybe."

"If you're thinking I'm some sort of hero, let me shoot you down now. Been there, done that, didn't work out."

"I never said that, but the offer still stands."

Sara held out her hand and Helena took it.

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

Shadows conceal whatever they want. Everyone in Starling was highly aware of the fact. Corrupt as Starling was, a crime committed in broad daylight would still be punished. The problem was, most occurred in the natural darkness cast by the city's walls.

Laurel Lance knew that fact better than anyone.

"You're not breaking the law if no one catches you." That was a famous line her little sister once recited during their childhood.

Now Laurel wouldn't ever say Sara was a particularly bad girl, but she would admit her sister was human, therefore she had flaws. One of those flaws came about during a shoplifting phase that Laurel couldn't ever figure out how it started. The only thing she knew was at the time she naïvely thought is was some BS.

As a lawyer, she knew the true weight of those words.

In a court, everyone was innocent until proven guilty. To be proven guilty, there had to be undeniable, solid proof. Sadly, that was also how so many scumbags could escape justice. All it took was any incentive and the undeniable could easily be disregarded.

Earlier that morning a textbook example unfolded right before Laurel's eyes.

The comfort of home didn't help.

Guilt was an endless ocean drowning Laurel.

Luckily, there was another kind of liquid that saved all…

…at least temporarily.

It's called whisky. **[2]**

Another cup lasted a few seconds.

Ironically, this drinking problem was the first time Laurel Lance broke a rule or a law and wasn't instantly caught.

Growing up, her dad could always tell when Laurel was lying; after all, he was a smart man. If by some miracle she got past her mom and dad, her guilt won out eventually and she confessed.

Now she was on her own and the guilt/reason for drinking out weighed the guilt she felt from drinking.

They say the first step is the hardest, and Laurel could vouch for that saying.

It started with one cup.

Just a toast in honor of Tommy and any other casualties from The Undertaking, that was it, for the night at least.

Only, it slowly became a routine, and within those two weeks morning coffee was replaced by alcohol.

Laurel would have finished her daily routine and the bottle, but one thing caught her attention, the news.

"So you're saying a masked blond woman in black leather saved you?" The reporter asked.

A woman, probably around her early twenties nodded, "Yah, last night a couple of guys ganged up on me. Then, out of nowhere, she attacked them and saved me, then disappeared like a ninja."

The reporter nodded, "I see, is there anything else that happened that night?"

"I think she was inspired by The Hood, since one of the guys one pinned down by some arrows."

At that, Laurel turned the TV off.

For several nights, she laid awake in bed, no sleep welcomed her. At first, it was because the image of Tommy under a building bleeding out that haunted her sleep.

For the past few days, however, she was occupied by thoughts of that blond woman who saved her.

She saw them, the two that saved her. One she knew as Helena Bertinelli, the other was a mystery she only caught a glimpse of for a mere second. In that second, their eyes locked, and their worlds collided, but just for a second.

The woman reminded her of The Hood.

For some reason, Laurel felt inexplicitly drawn to both of them.

But the reasons were different.

With him, Laurel felt more hopeful, maybe because someone else was out there trying to save this dying city, trying to save her home. She also wouldn't deny there might have been some sort of sexual attraction too, but she also couldn't confirm it. He felt familiar.

She felt familiar. Laurel was attracted to her as well, but out of curiosity and maybe desperation. It was like that woman filled some hole in her heart. Those blue eyes sent her a wave of nostalgia. Her eyes reminded her of her sister's, clear, pure blue eyes. But the present coldness and fear in the woman's eyes clashed against her sister's a hopeful and optimistic gleam.

A drop of water appeared on the floor.

Laurel stared and she held her hand up waiting for whatever leek to reveal its location.

Nothing.

But another drop fell.

Laurel put her hand on her cheek.

She was crying.

The bottle in her hand felt heavy, she started down into the bottle's opening, it was like an empty abyss. The liquid in the bottle was calling to her, but Laurel's attention was now elsewhere. She was staring at a dusty picture frame in the corner on the room.

Wiping away the dust only increased the flow of tears.

It was them, Laurel and Sara.

Judging from the Christmas tree in the background, the picture was captured sometime in December. Another clue for the date was the black bird in the background, meaning Sara was about nine and Laurel was about eleven. They were both curled up together on the couch.

It was interesting to see, even when they were that young, this one moment depicted so much about them. It was late at night and Sara seemed wide-awake, and Laurel however looked like she was about to pass out at any given moment. Sara was also sporting a mustache courtesy of the coca beverage in her hand. Laurel was cautiously gripping her mug waiting for the liquid to cool down; despite the fact her sister was probably done with hers. Sara was sunny, Laurel was not.

But they both looked so young and innocent.

There was no trace of the reckless idiot who stowed away on a stupid boat.

There was no trace of a lowly drunk.

Just two sisters who loved each other dearly.

Laurel stared at her sister's image, then at the bottle in her hands.

Sighing, Laurel set the bottle down on the table and held the picture close to herself.

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

It sucks to say this, but when calamity strikes, when not if, people have two choices, two options, and two paths.

A) Deny it and escape to whatever fantasy/lie you want to force down your own throat.

B) Accept it, face reality, and do something about it.

A broken bottle with its contents spilling out in Laurel's trash revealed her choice.

She was strolling through a path carrying some flowers.

Laurel stopped at one particular rock with the name "Thomas Merlyn" engraved on it.

"I know I haven't come by since the funeral, but I just didn't know how to face you."

The engraved words felt like daggers to Laurel's heart.

"I'm so sorry, Tommy. At first I blamed him for your death, but let's be honest, a guy with a bow and arrow can't help a guy with a building crushing him."

Tears were forming in her eyes.

"But now, I know it was my fault, I'm too stubborn, I should have listened, I shouldn't have come to work. Maybe if I didn't, you wouldn't need to save me and you'd be here. So I'm really sorry."

She wiped the tears out of her eyes before they fell.

"Goodbye, Tommy. I love you."

A pair of red roses was placed on her boyfriend's grave.

Laurel didn't pay attention for the next few minutes, she just allowed herself to wonder aimlessly around the cemetery.

All of the rocks looked the same, and only difference was the names.

The name she stopped at paralyzed her.

Sara Lance.

"Hey sis,"

"I know it's been over a year… honestly, I wasn't planning on visiting…"

Laurel crouched down.

"But since I'm here, I just wanted to say…"

Crack!

Laurel spun around towards the origin of the sound.

A glimpse of a black leather jacket caught her eyes.

Racing after it, Laurel called out, "Wait!"

The other figure either didn't hear her and continued running or heard her and ran faster as a result.

Both of them raced out of the cemetery and entered The Glades.

Unfortunately for Laurel, her prey had the home field advantage.

They ran recklessly in the streets, Laurel nearly got run over by a car but continued on anyways.

"Stop! Please!"

They'd reached a parking lot.

Laurel had slight problems maneuvering between the stationary cars while the girl with the leather jacket seemed to be a pro at this.

The girl easily hopped the fence.

It took Laurel an few extra seconds to climb over and continue the chase.

Entering a dark alley, Laurel lost sight of the other girl, until she noticed an open door.

Racing up the stairs, Laurel caught another glimpse of the girl.

She cornered her at the end of the stairwell.

But cold metal smashed against her head.

In the coming darkness, the girl she was chasing looked down upon her.

Laurel caught a small flash of another woman.

Leather jacket.

A black mask.

Blonde.

A familiar set of fearful blue eyes.

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

Laurel woke up with a searing headache and a note in her pocket.

Pulling the piece of paper out of her pocket, Laurel quickly unfolded it.

"Sorry about the headache, my friend panicked. Good luck and stay strong.

\- Sin"

It took her a few minutes to realize where she was. She was on her couch insider her own apartment.

The only question was how they knew where she lived.

Normally, if a stranger knew where you lived it, was a good idea to pack and hightail it out of there.

Laurel, however, knew stranger things have happened in the past year. She would start with her ex coming back from the dead and end it somewhere along the lines of earthquake machines.

The picture of her sister and herself was now on the counter, strange, she thought she left in on the coffee table this morning… Nine-year-old Sara's eyes seemed to be watching her every move.

Sighing, Laurel opened her refrigerator and pulled several packs of bottles out. Her pantry was also quickly raided and every single bottle containing alcohol was cleared out.

Oh, it would be too easy to just drown her sorrow wouldn't it?

Several trips up and down the elevator later, Laurel made her final trip outside her apartment building.

All of the bottles were piled around one dumpster in the back.

Grabbing one at a time, Laurel tossed each one into the dumpster, each giving off a satisfying crash upon landing.

Laurel returned to her apartment with a little smirk on her face.

It might not have been much, but at least it was progress, and Laurel could move forward, just one little step at a time. **[3]**

* * *

 **[1] I'm trying a little experiment on how to write fight scenes so that we know how each character thinks and strategizes during battle. Let me know how that went please?**

 **[2] Yes, this is a shameless Jessica Jones reference. Just finished the series a little while ago, and it's amazing, but I'd say it's about PG-16 just to give you a fair warning should this be the reason you start the series.**

 **[3] This entire scene is basically me giving Laurel Lance's drug and alcohol arc the middle finger. I wanted to get rid of this completely but since I started this AU a few weeks after season 1 ended chances are Laurel was starting her path of drugs and alcohol so I couldn't really ignore it.**

* * *

 **Reviews**

highlander348: Thanks so much, you're so sweet! Complicated is the only word that describes Helena and Sara's relationship in the future. Thanks for being my first review!

kindleflame5: Yah, there was a live action show on The Birds of Prey a while ago. It was ok and you can find it online. Just be warned it's a very loose adaptation of the comic, so if you're looking for a very traditional Birds of Prey, you might be disappointed. As for future team members: you'll have to wait and see.

* * *

 **The Flarrow episodes were really good, but I'm kind of disappointed Sara didn't make it into either episode, considering it would help set up for Legends more and she was in Central City! Also does this mean they killed Sara again during the first timeline where Savage killed everyone but The Flash in Central City? The girl can't catch a break! What I am excited about is the fact Thea made an Avengers reference, which confirms my long thought hypothesis (not theory, those are different things) that Marvel is in the media of the DCCW.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **12/11/15**


	3. 1-3 Fledglings: Not so Different

**Thanks to my friend who edits!**

 **Don't own Arrow!**

* * *

 **Fledglings: Not so Different**

* * *

"You really know how to pick a hideout." Helena's words oozed with sarcasm.

Sara merely glanced at Helena; curiosity told Helena to continue, "The floor boards creek with every foot step, even yours. Not to mention there were some missing steps in the staircase. Plus, the clock is either two hours slow or ten hours behind."

They both glanced at the clock; it was frozen at 11:52.

"At least the clock isn't stuck at midnight or I'd have to add cliché to the long list of problems."

"It has a nice view, you can see the whole city from up here." Sara replied.

Helena rolled her eyes, "Yes, this city in the pinnacle of stability and beauty, everyone should bask in its glory."

"It was beautiful before the Undertaking at least."

A laugh was suppressed when Helena realized the bird was serious, "You're kidding, right?"

"Compared to the place I called home for the past few years, yah it was."

"What kind of place…" Helena trailed off after noticing the somber look in Sara's eyes.

"Well, I'll just say, the fact there was no wifi was one of the more minor problems."

"Wow, I just stepped in a land mine. But still, maybe that saying, 'you never know what you have until it's gone' applies."

"Maybe, I don't think I cared about Starling as much until recently. I always felt so restless here, but now, it's almost…" But Sara never finished her train of thought.

Helena just mumbled something in Italian, to which Sara simply raised an eyebrow, "Just a heads up, I know English, Arabic, Chinese, and a couple other languages, but Italian isn't one of them."

"It just means no matter where you go, you'll always return home."

Staring out to the city, Sara simply nodded, "I guess you're proof that it's true."

Helena instantly picked up on her slip up: 'why aren't you proof?' but said nothing.

Instead, she went for a different topic, "So let me guess, you're going to go patrolling with me, we're going to take some bad guys down, all while you try to make me change my ways. Justice, not revenge… etc."

"I've told you before, I'm not in a position to lecture you about morality, or really anyone for that matter."

Sara gaze drifted from the city down below to meeting Helena's, "Plus, I thought you said you're on a hunt for justice?"

"Yah, well he…"

"He doesn't matter. I'm working with you, not him. I'm not him."

"Really? But once upon a time on a certain boat…"

"As far as I'm concerned, that was a life time ago."

Helena noticed this topic in particular brought the icy gaze back and decided to lighten the mood, "How many lives? And don't tell me you have nine lives, I've always thought of you as a bird for some reason, a cat… no."

"Funny you should say that, I called my self Ta-er al-Sahfer a for a while."

"Maybe we should write down the list of languages we both know, because Arabic isn't one I know."

"It means yellow bird." **[1]**

"So basically, you're calling yourself a canary?"

"That was kind of the idea."

"Beats 'The Hood' at least, then again, at least I get where the name came from."

"I used to have a pet canary when I was younger, and obsessed over it non-stop. It was kind of my only friend when I was younger."

"Well, that explains a lot…"

"Hey!"

For the first time in the evening, they both let a laugh escape them. If anyone didn't know any better, they sounded like some old friends catching up on the latest gossip, as long as one ignored the scenery.

It also seemed like they'd forgotten about the topic at hand, seemed being the key word.

"Besides, I understand and he's wrong."

"Oh, we're back on that topic."

"I've investigated every incident The Huntress is connected to."

"Do you sleep?"

"Sorry, the nightmares don't let me do that, I needed a hobby." Helena couldn't tell if Sara was joking or not.

"So stalking me was your choice?"

"Well that and beating up would be rapiers."

"I feel so honored."

"Anyway, all of your targets, or should I say prey? They all were scumbags that no one would miss, all of which could easily escape the full repercussions of the law from connections."

"It sounds like a but is coming up, with a side of judgment."

Sara flatly answered, "I was part of a group called The League of Assassins, I did more than just kill scumbags."

"No offense, but seriously?"

"Well, you see why I can't really lecture you about…"

"No, I mean 'League of Assassins' talk about obvious, was Murdercorpse already taken?" **[2]**

Sara let a small smile form, "If you want my opinion, you do have a sense of justice, just an unorthodox version. Your own kind of justice."

And for the first time in the evening, Helena was speechless, no witty retort available. So instead she decided a distraction would be better, "Have you even used a crossbow?"

Sara picked up Helena's cross bow and examined it, "Hm… it's a bit different from a bow."

"Well I tried a real bow before, and I don't have the patients to use one. I'm more of a shoot now ask questions later kind of girl."

"Yah, the other night I noticed."

"Sorry, but hey, all's fair in love and war."

"So are you telling me you wuv me? Aw, that's so sweet the Huntress has a heart!" Sara teased.

"I said love _and_ war."

"Well, it certainty wasn't war that night."

"Shut up…"

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

 _Clank. Clank. Bang. Bang. Smash._

'If this continues, I might throw myself off this tower…" Helena thought.

Even if she said it out loud, chances are Sara wouldn't hear her. The bird was rhythmically smashing her two batons against the stair rails. Each blow gave a satisfying ring. Each blow also rhythmically gave Helena a migraine. "You know if this doesn't stop, I will throw myself off this tower!"

Sara, however, didn't hear her and continued.

Helena sighed, notching an arrow in her crossbow and fired, the arrow wasn't meant to hit anyone; instead it whizzed by Sara's face and hit the wall behind her. "You know, you can just ask me to stop."

"Yah, tried and failed."

"Sorry."

"Hey, practice all you want, next time just give me some warning so I can clear out. Don't want to go deaf before I'm thirty."

Another arrow whizzed by Sara's face, this one, however, was meant to hit someone.

"Holy shit!" the person ducked after exclaiming.

"Sara what was… oh my… you know The Huntress."

But the first reply was the sound of a reloading crossbow.

"Helena." Sara simply said.

It was strange how the six-letter word carried so much power of The Huntress. Sara could deliver an entire conversation, compacted in just three syllables.

Helena sighed and put her crossbow away.

"One of the Huntress's arrows just fired at me… One of the Huntress's arrows just fired at me!" The second time seemed to have more enthusiasm?

"Helena, Sin. Sin Helena."

"This is so cool…" Sin quietly muttered.

"Now do me a favor, tell me why a half-pint hoodlum knows about our secret layer?"

"Hey! I'm 5' 3" I'm not that short…"

"Still below average." **[3]**

Sin huffed, "…curse all you tall people…"

"Let's try this again: why is she here?"

"Oh right, I brought food." Sin held out the bag of takeout.

Helena handed half of the food to Sara, "Italian?"

"Well, I guess she wanted to play it safe with you." Sara shrugged.

"You don't have to refer to me in third person while I'm standing in front of you," Sin said while eying the arrow that nearly took her head off a few minutes ago.

Pulling it out of the wall, Sin twirled it in her hand, "This is very cool."

Helena raised an eyebrow.

Sin sheepishly asked, "Can I keep this?"

"Sure, knock yourself out kid."

"I'm seventeen."

"Which means you are still a minor, therefore: kid."

"Got it, Granny." Sin smirked.

Helena smirked back.

"Kid, have you ever fired a crossbow before?" Helena asked, 'this could be interesting'.

"She'd be a pretty cool granny." Sin declared.

Sara however put her foot down, "No."

"Oh, she's going to be a real fun parent." Helena stated and Sin simply nodded.

"Well, actually, based off what she's told me, Nyssa probably would be the stick in the mud parent," Sin simply stated.

Sara however was somewhat red.

Helena noticed instantly, "Oh, I need to hear more about this Nyssa character."

"No!" Sara exclaimed.

"Well…" Sin started.

"Go to your room." Sara cut her off.

"But I don't live here."

"Uh…"

"Like an annoying littler sister…"

"Love you too, Sara!" Sin joked, but underneath Sin a wave of happiness washed over her, 'so I'm her little sister…'

Helena however wouldn't let the moment pass, "Don't worry we'll talk later…"

"Like the corrupting, evil aunt…"

"Hey!"

"Don't worry those are the fun aunts!" Sin explained.

"Sin," Sara simply stated.

So, apparently, the name only conversation applied between Sara and Sin too, "Oh, right."

"Oh right?" Helena asked.

"I think I know where your dad is hiding."

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

"Remind me again why you're the only one going out tonight?" Helena's voice rang over the coms.

"I thought we agreed that you'd stay behind, in case it was a trap. Reinforcements, remember?" Sara answered while landing on another building.

"I think the deal was more I stay here so that way I don't scare my father off."

Sara checked the surroundings; there was one thing that caught her eyes, a squad car, "Whatever story you want to go with."

"Yah, well both suck. I either have to believe my partner is a terrible liar, or she doesn't trust me to control myself."

Sara glanced into the police car and noted a picture on the consul, a very familiar picture. It had two little girls one had a black canary perched on her finger. "Helena, I think my dad's here too."

"Is that really surprising? He's a cop, isn't he? People like my dad, mob bosses, are like catnip to cops. Just focus on the task at hand."

The shadows of the building concealed the Canary, "Yah, but I…"

"You don't want to be seen, do you?"

Sara continued to stare at the picture, "Not really."

"If you want, I can be there in five minutes."

Now walking along the building Sara peered into a window, "No, that's ok."

"Wow, you really are a terrible liar, guess I feel a bit better now."

Sara pulled out a knife and quietly opened the window, regardless of the lock, "Focus, Sin said this was a common mob meeting place, until last week."

"Yah, I remember. Someone kicked everyone else out."

Around the corner, the sound of footsteps rang out, "Talk in a sec."

Over the com, Helena heard one guy yelp and groan in pain her only response was to smirk.

"Your dad really should invest in better security."

"I'll tell him that right before I put an arrow in him."

"Oh shit! You're with her!" The random monk shouted.

Sara pressed her bō against his rib cage, "Hey, looks like we got one that can point out the obvious."

Helena sighed, "Dad should get smarter goons too."

"I'm standing right here!" The guy shouted.

"Ok…"

"…Billy…"

"Ok Billy, where is Frank Bertinelli?"

"…"

"Keep in mind, I decide if you continue breathing." Sara applied a little more pressure to illustrate her point.

"He's…"

"Freeze!"

The bō's pressure on Billy's ribs remained constant as Sara turned to the owner on the new voice. She froze, but not because he screamed to freeze, but because of who he was, Quentin Lance.

"Step away from the man, with your hands up." Quentin shouted pointing the gun, unwittingly at his own daughter.

Sara, however, didn't comply beyond freeze, so a several shots rang out. Sara managed to avoid all but one, which managed to graze her arm. Luckily, she was fast enough, so the cut was only superficial, but a small trail of blood was left behind.

She hid behind a large pillar, "I'm on my way." Helena said, the sound of a motorcycle's engine was heard.

More gun fire went off, but this time it wasn't directed at Sara, "Tell Helena: her dad sends his regards." Billy screamed.

Billy's hand was trembling as the knife in his hands was pressed against Quentin's neck. However, it wasn't the hand without a knife that caught Sara's attention. In his other hand was a detonator, "Move any closer and I blow up the entire building, us included!"

However, the bombs never went off as an arrow knocked the detonator out of his hands, "Why, aren't you a very cliché criminal?" Helena asked.

"Shoot me and you'll never know where your father is." Billy simply stated.

Helena still had the crossbow pointed at him, but her finger was no longer on the trigger, "Don't tell me and I'll shoot you."

"This is a nice Mexican standoff… that I don't need to be a part of." Quentin pointed out.

But Billy had forgotten Quentin was even there, until he spoke up, "Ok, new deal, let me go and he lives."

Sara eye's caught Helena's, the message was clear.

Helena dropped the cross bow, "Ok, but just keep in mind, they call me The Huntress for a reason."

Just to prove Helena's assessment on being cliché, Billy stabbed Quentin in the chest anyway. Helena raced over to Quentin and pressed her hands against his cut, hoping to stop the bleeding.

Sara, however, picked up Helena's crossbow and impaled him with the entire magazine of arrows. Racing over to her father, Sara felt some tears streaming down her face, "Please, stay with me…" She removed her mask and wig.

"Sara?" Quentin weakly gasped.

"Daddy, stay with me, please."

"If I stay with you, doesn't that mean I'm dead?" Quentin tried his best to chuckle.

"No, daddy I'm alive."

Several red, white, and blue lights lit the place up. Sirens filled the air.

"Sara, we need to go." Helena urged her.

Sara frantically shook her head, "But my dad!"

"We need to go now, they'll help him, but we have to go now!" Helena was basically pushing Sara out of the building.

"I love you, dad."

But Quentin was passed out from blood loss.

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

Sara sat alone in the clock tower; she was staring at the picture in her hand. It had two girls; one had a black canary parched on her hands. "Sara?"

"Oh, hey Sin."

"Heard about your dad, that's rough."

"Helena told you?"

"Yah."

"Don't worry, he's ok. In the hospital, but he's alive. He'll be out in a couple of weeks."

"You broke into a hospital?"

"I'd do the same thing for you, in case you're jealous."

"Wha… no, me? Jealous?," Sin instantly went for a distraction, "I heard Helena killed a guy. Man, I guess she's a little crazy."

"I don't know. If that's the case, I'm probably crazy too."

"But you're not a killer."

Sara wanted to tell Sin the truth, but the words couldn't leave her mouth, instead she just gave a sad gaze, "We're not so different honestly. The only thing different about us is my loved ones are still alive."

"I think there's more to it then that."

"What? I'm a blonde, and she's not?" Sara forced a joke out.

Sin, however, didn't notice, "Ok, there's that, but I mean she's cool."

"So I'm not cool? Ok that's it, I'm not treating you to dinner anymore."

"No I mean, she's cool like a friend kind of cool. But you're cool because you care. You care enough to take save a random stranger from some guys. You care enough to help her get her act together, to protect her, to feed her. You care enough to be my new family."

Sara smiled and pulled Sin in for a hug, "Ok, fine, I'll still treat you to dinner."

"Yay!"

However, the touching moment was cut short by the sound of a phone buzzing.

"It's Helena," Sara said after checking the phone.

"Well, at least she's done sulking," Sin joked.

"I'll be back in a little bit."

"Where are you going?"

"To church."

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

Helena was sitting in one of the isles across from her was another person, but they were tied up, ganged, and their head was covered by a sack, "Hey Birdy."

"I see why I needed the mask, you made a new friend?"

"Yup!"

"But you tied them up."

"Well, you know my social skills. I nearly took your head off, I nearly took the kid's head off, at least she's only tied up."

"So you're not mad for last night?"

"Oh you know me, I prefer to do something productive with my rage, so I went shopping and instead I found a more reliable source."

"Care to introduce me?"

Helena removed the sack, "Canary, Felicity. Felicity Smoak, Canary."

* * *

 **[1] The Arabic word for canary is canary, I guess Arrow wanted something foreign sounding so they went with the next best thing.**

 **[2] Another shameless Jessica Jones reference.**

 **[3] The average height for females in the US is 5' 4" so I have no idea why the show keeps calling Thea (5' 4'') short.**

* * *

 **Reviews**

highlander348: Thanks so much! Yah, Sara and Laurel will always have a connection, but who knows if Laurel's the only one on this hunt.

kindleflame5: Sorry no Laurel in this chapter, but we'll see what she's doing a little later.

* * *

 **Ok we can do this everyone, just twenty five more days before Flash returns, just twenty six more day before Arrow returns, and just twenty seven more days until Legends premiers. Oh, yah I'm calling it now Felicity is alive and might be Oracle later. Also Zoom is earth-2 Barry. Merry Christmas! If you celebrate, otherwise Happy Holidays!**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **12/25/15**


	4. 1-4 Fledglings: The Informant

**Thanks to my editing friend!**

 **Don't own Arrow, but wouldn't it be nice if I did? (just joking)**

* * *

 **Fledglings: The Informant**

* * *

"So how does this work? Do I talk first, and then you talk? Or do you talk first, then I talk? Is there torture involved? We can talk like civilized people! Or are you taking some of TV's sage advice and doing some good cop, bad cop routine? If the last one's it, I must say I think you're both bad cop. Well, actually, I only know The Huntress has killed people, so she's probably bad cop. The jury's still out on you Canary, but based off who you associate with…"

Sara noted, "Most captives aren't this chatty."

"Most captives aren't me."

Helena muttered, "I'm really regretting taking the gag off."

"You see the irony right? Two murderers hiding in a church of all places. Aren't you worried about God smiting you down or something?" Felicity asked.

"How should I know? I'm an atheist," Sara simply stated.

Helena leaned in closer to Felicity, "So Smoak, we have two ways we can do this."

"Let me guess, is one the easy way?"

Flatly, Helena answered, "No."

"Oh…" Felicity gulped.

Helena loaded her cross bow, "Option one: help us find Frank, then I put an arrow in you, or option two: I shoot you and then you help us find Frank."

"I don't think you understand how interrogation works, you're captive kind of needs to be alive to talk and give you your information."

The Huntress deadpanned, "Do you really think you're in the position to criticize how I interrogate? Plus, I think you'd still be talking."

"You're right, that has nothing to do with me, what am I thinking? Oh, wait I'm the one going to be interrogated! I think I have a say… right? …Like I said, new to this interrogation thing."

"Helena," Sara said hoping to calm her partner down.

"Well so much for a secret identity…"

Simultaneously Sara and Felicity asked, "What secret identity?"

"I wear a mask!"

"But it barely covers any of your face," Sara noted.

"Like you're one to talk!"

Felicity mumbles, "I feel like this doesn't happen during most interrogations…"

"At least I wear a mask, Oliver just gets by with grease paint and no one criticizes him! Why am I the only one that gets ridiculed!?"

The IT girl felt like smacking herself, "I guess secret identities aren't sacred with you…"

"In Helena's defense, I knew before I met her."

For the first time, Felicity was speechless, "…"

"Peace and quiet at last!" Helena exclaimed in delight and held up her cross bow.

"You know when people say 'you'll have to put a gun to my head to make me do it,' they mean it figuratively!" Felicity complained while she quickly typing on a keyboard.

Sara piped in, "To be fair, she has a crossbow to your head, not a gun."

"That makes such a difference."

Helena pushed the cross bow closer to Felicity, "Less talking, more typing."

"Oh, I promise you I can do both, I'm quite the multitasker! Now can you put the cross bow away?"

The Huntress rolled her eyes, "Only when you stop talking."

"Oh, so this isn't going away anytime soon…" Felicity sighed.

"You have to admire her bravery," Sara noted.

"Or maybe it's stupidity?" Helena mused.

"Ok, you can hold me at figurative and literal gun point, but you do not insult my intelligence." The typing became a little louder, probably to reflect Felicity's more frustrated mood, "I went to MIT, did you guys even finish college? Or does the degree in murder and kidnapping come somewhere else?"

"For your information, I did finish college," Helena muttered. Sara however decided to remain silent, since she technically didn't finish college. Another of the many regrets she has from the night of the Gambit.

"So you can get a murder degree? Well I guess universities tried to be as diverse as possible."

Helena clarified, "No, I got a teaching degree." **[1]**

"Ha, ha, and I suck at hacking."

Sara piped in, "Actually, she's telling the truth."

"Wow, you really did research me." Helena wasn't sure if she should be flattered or not.

"Told you I needed a hobby," Sara joked.

"Could I offer you one that's legal?" Felicity asked.

"Technically, looking people up on Google is legal."

"I don't need to be lectured about legality from a criminal," Felicity muttered.

Helena repressed an exasperated sigh, "I'm hearing a lot of chit chat from you… I hope this means you have a lead."

"Why do I feel like we're apart of someone's comedy routine?" Felicity mused before pulling up several pages on her screen, "Ok, a few days after the Undertaking, your dad came back to Starling. Based on his meetings with the Triad and his Internet history, it seems he was checking on his assets, that and binging reality TV. Does your father have any taste? The important stuff, he hightailed it out of Starling, straight out of the country, fake passport and everything. I guess when word got around you were in town he wisely fled. The only problem is, that passport and all of you dad other's assets haven't been touched yet, so I'm sorry I can't really do much more."

Helena stormed out of the church, "Wait where are you… oh, great…" Felicity noticed The Canary disappeared too.

"I'm still handcuffed to the table and I need to pee!"

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

"Damn it!" Helena screamed, firing several arrows at a tree to vent.

"Now, now, that tree's innocent," Sara joked while appearing out of the shadows.

"Is that the only way you know how to make an entrance?"

Sara shrugged, "Admit it, you'd be disappointed if I entered normally."

"I don't know; I'm sure the chances of a heart attack would decrease."

The Canary removed her mask, "So, what now?"

"You heard the informant, he's off the radar. Don't know."

Their gazes caught each other, "Whatever it is, I'll come with you if you want."

Helena removed her mask too, "Thanks."

There was a pause while Helena started pulling her arrows out of the tree, "Do you know why I picked this church?"

"I have a guess."

"If you check towards the front you'll find a couple of graves, and one of them-"

"- is Michael's." Sara finished.

"Exactly. Can I ask you something? Something you don't have to answer."

"Technically you just did, but sure."

"You said you did more then just kill scumbags, suppose if someone came after you for revenge, would you hold it against them?"

Sara didn't answer for a little while, initially, "Honestly? No. You saw last night, what I did to that man who stabbed my dad. I don't think anyone's different."

Helena yanked out her last arrow from the tree, "I see," she began to twirl the arrow in her hand, "I think… I think I can wait a little longer then. I'm going to stay in Starling for a while."

"So The Huntress is on vacation?"

"No, not exactly. I'm still on my hunt; after all, if I wait long enough, dad will have to return to Starling sooner or later, his main enterprise is here. When he does, I'll be waiting for him and I have an arrow with his name on it. I don't exactly want to waste time hunting down pointless leads when I have a chance later. But in the meantime, I think I just stick around, it's hard to explain, but I feel like… I feel like I'm home, but not. I mean it's Starling city still, but the city is dying, our home is dying. So if I'm going to be here a while, I might as well try to save it. Don't you want to?"

"Yah, but…"

"You're afraid if you stay the League will catch you, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Ok, how about we stay near by, incase someone like Merlyn shows up again, otherwise, how about a road trip?"

"Who are you? And what have you done with Helena?"

"I know the optimism burns my mouth. But why not?"

"Ok, we'll leave first thing in the morning. But first I think we should check in on our captive, she was screaming about needing to pee when I ditched her," Sara hopped through one of the church's windows.

"Yah, I'm not cleaning that up," Helena soon followed.

"Oh-"

"-shit" Helena finished.

The chair was empty and Felicity Smoak was nowhere to be seen.

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

While kidnapping in general wasn't new to her, Felicity Smoak knew this specific experience was. Not so much that she escaped and survived a kidnaping while held and gun point, it was more of the part she didn't have to go straight to the Foundry after. So where was the next best place to go? Home. Felicity might not be a part of the more financially endowed faction of the population that could actually afford to live in a decent space (ie far, far from the Glades), but being a Queen Consolidated employ had its perks. One being she living fairly close to the outskirts of the city, close to the building that housed said company. However, that also meant Felicity had a very, very long walk from the church in The Glades to home.

When Felicity finally reached her house, all she wanted to do was take a nice relaxing bath and hop in bed shortly after, sadly life seemed to have a conspiracy, one that was dedicated to ensure Felicity Smoak never got a fully night of sleep. Swinging the door open, Felicity threw her boots off and was about to unbutton her top until she noticed someone was sitting on her windowsill.

"Oh, my... How did you- When did you-"

"Gonna finish any of those sentences?" The Canary asked.

Felicity stomped up to her home invader, since technically "visitor" typically implied they were invited, "How do you know where I live?!"

"Oh, you'd be surprised what you can find on the Internet."

"No, I really wouldn't. Ok, if I have to go back, let me pee first!"

Sara blinked, "Sure go ahead, but I'm not just going to kidnap you."

"Why? Your partner, and by partner I mean in the business sense, not the romantic sense… unless I missed something? Which is not a problem at all! Seemed to have no problem doing that last night."

A small laugh escaped the bird.

"Oh, good you can do that. I was going to check for batteries and wires soon."

The laughter continued for a litter longer until Sara responded, "No, Helena's not exactly my type… and I'm just here to keep an eye on you, just so Helena has time to clear out before you call the cops."

"I wasn't gonna… oh who am I kidding? Yah, I was going to call the cops. It's kind of what you do when you witness suspicious activity."

"I know how the law works, dad's a cop and sister's a lawyer."

"Wow, they must be proud of their masked delinquent." There was no response to that comment.

"So can I go to the bathroom alone? Or are you going to have to keep an eye on me in there, because I will hold it then."

Sara shook her head, "Just give me your phone before you go."

Felicity handed Sara her phone and locked the door behind her Felicity stared at the window, it was small and it would defiantly be tight, not to mention it was fairly high on the wall. 'Could I fit through? Maybe not, but it's worth a try… then again she's unarmed and I have one of Oliver's emergency knives under my sink for situations like this. She doesn't have superpowers, she just human, so if I have the element of surprise…oh who am I kidding? Window it is.'

"Oh, and don't think about climbing out the window," Sara's voice came through the wooden door.

'Nevermind! She's a mind reader! Abort mission! Abort mission!' The toilet was flushed and Felicity gingerly exited the bathroom, not in a rush to abandon the safety the thick wooden door provided.

The Canary was on the couch flipping through some TV channels, "I have no idea what any of these shows are…" Sara mused.

"Have you been living under a rock?"

"No, but I have been living at a place with no wifi or cable for the last six years."

"Sounds like hell."

"Pretty much was."

After joining Sara on the couch, Felicity asked, "Quick question, do I have a case of Stockholm Syndrome? Because I don't feel like my life is endangered right now, and you're like 5% trustworthy. Which by the way is a full 5% more than the Huntress."

"Don't know. By the way, here's your phone back." Sara tossed Felicity her phone, but since Felicity wasn't prepared, she play a quick game of Hot Potatoes before catching the phone in a panic.

"Are you mad women?! You do not throw phones! There goes that 5% of trust…"

"I figure I have at least 10% trust."

"Why's that?"

"Well you're alive, and we're just watching Agents of Shield." **[2]**

"Sorry, but it's a bit hard to trust anyone who won't show their face to me."

Sara shook her head again, "I can't take the mask off… don't you know the rules of comic books?"

Felicity rolled her eyes, "Yah, but Spiderman has a mask to protect his loved ones."

"Who says that's not my reason?"

"Oh…"

"That, and I like to be able to walk into a convenient store without someone making a fuss." Felicity had a somewhat stunned look, as if she couldn't tell it if was a joke or not, "…that last part was a joke."

Felicity felt a little nervous and decided to change the subject, "How did you get here before me?"

"You were on foot, I have a motorcycle… I thought you said you went to MIT?"

"Ha, ha."

Felicity's phone started flashing, "What does that mean?" Sara asked, she might not have been in contact with technology for a while, but the fact the phone seemed to have a more sophisticated police radar on its screen didn't seem exactly normal.

A sigh rang out as Felicity shut the phone off, "It used to mean my friends and I would save someone, but now…"

"So let's go save someone," Sara said already half way out the door.

Felicity followed her to a motorcycle parked in the driveway. "Here, don't want to damage that pretty face." Sara said before handing Felicity her helmet.

A small stammer of protest started, but in the end the two rode off together into the night. And of course, their destination was yet another abandoned warehouse. Felicity remained outside by Sara's bike while Sara ran inside with a com Felicity gave her.

"Ok, so I'll navigate you through," Felicity's voice rang through the com, "By the way, you should listen or your earpiece will explode."

Sara paused for a moment, "That was a joke, but seriously, it would save you a lot of time to listen to me."

"Roger that. Oh, and if you're trying to hot wire my bike, I can and will find you," Sara replied, in hopefully joking manner.

"Don't worry I wasn't… I couldn't figure out if I was supposed to cut the red of the blue wire…"

"I'll assume that was a joke. Plus it sound like you're trying to disarm a bomb," Sara said while continuing down the hall.

"Ok, take two rights and wait at the corner, two guys are coming by, but if you're quiet, they won't notice you."

Sara followed the instructions until Felicity continued, "Up a head should be the meeting spot."

"Some things never change, why are all drug dealers so insistent in receiving all of their merchandise at an abandoned old warehouse?"

"Don't know. If I ever become a drug dealer, I'll set up shop in a nice five star hotel. Hey, if I'm going to be a deadbeat, I might as well be a deadbeat with style."

"Ok, that definitely was a joke."

"Well, you'd be able to tell better if you had a sense of humor."

Opening the door, Sara whispered, "I laugh when I hear something funny."

"Are you telling me I'm not funny? Because hell no, I'm hilarious!"

"I wasn't saying that, but don't worry if you weren't you'd still be cute."

"…"

"Felicity, you there?"

"Yah, don't worry, there must have been some bad connection or something." Felicity mused, 'or something…'

Through the com Felicity heard several guys groaning in pain before Sara's voice returned to the line, "Sorry, I think there were six guys here." One more grunt was heard, "Make that seven."

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

It was a pretty dull way to end the day all things considering, the drug dealers were nothing above the run of the mill cocaine dealers. Now maybe if they were dealing Vertigo, then they'd fit into the day's thematic excitement and thrill. Instead they were all quickly beat up, tied up, and then some 'anonymous' tip lead to police straight to the enterprise.

Felicity and The Canary seemed to be enjoying the news feed of said case, all from the comfort of Felicity's own couch, "Ok, so maybe you're more like 40% trust worthy."

"A full 40% above Helena?" Sara said in playful enthusiasm.

"Well you'd be at about 50% if you would take the mask off."

"I told you, I can't-"

"Sara Lance."

"Um… what?"

"That's your name."

Sara stammered, "I don't…" 'Damn it! Not helping!'

"It's elementary, my dear Watson… do you have any idea how long I've been wanting to say that? First, you knew Oliver's identity, and there are a few people who'd know that… well few that are alive anyways… But Sara Lance shouldn't have known that, unless she did survive the shipwreck and was with Oliver during his time on the island, which would also explain your ninja skills. Let's face it, Oliver came back from the dead, and on TV it happens quite often, so I guess I really shouldn't be surprised. But what really helped me figure it out was the fact you're related to a cop dad and a lawyer sister, or should I say Quentin and Laurel respectively. Plus, I remember hearing you had an obsession with a certain canary as a child and you go by Canary now."

The Canary removed her mask, "Impressive."

"That and I checked the IDed the blood sample the cops took from your activity last night. Oh, and you're welcome since I hacked the network and told had them 'accidently' destroy the evidence before they could ID your blood themselves."

Sara smiled, "And here I thought you were some brilliant detective."

"Who says I'm not?"

"Hilarious."

"I told you I was! But seriously I pretty much know your biggest secret."

"You're not going to tell anyone, right?"

"I won't: on one condition."

The Canary also removed her wig, "Ok… what condition? Keep in mind I can kill you in over a hundred ways."

Felicity assumed the last part was a joke and not an actual threat, "You going to stick around in Starling and help me clean this city up."

Sara noted, "This sounds like de ja vu… so basically I'm your indentured servant."

"Yup!" Felicity happily stated, "Don't worry, I promise to be fair!"

"Even though staying here will endanger everyone I care about?"

"Oh, don't worry, I'm very good at hiding people."

"Fair enough."

"So, it's nice to meet you Sara Lance, it will be a pleasure doing business with you."

Felicity held out her hand, in a very business like manor.

"Like wise," and Sara shook her hand, both smiling.

This was probably the start of a beautiful friendship, or a dysfunctional one.

* * *

 **[1] In the comics, believe it or not, Helena actually is a teacher.**

 **[2] Technically, Agents of Shield shouldn't be airing at the moment, since it's a few months before Shield started airing. I'm kind of messing with the time line a little so their TV world of 2013 matches our current one of 2015-2016, just so the references are easier to make. Yup, I wanted to make references that badly (also raise your hands if you wish we had this schedule in our world… seriously, Legends would be out already!)**

* * *

 **Reviews:**

highlander348: The fun scenes to write are the ones where they're bickering like sisters, so you can expect a lot more.

kindleflame5: Yah, Felicity was extra sassy with Helena this chapter. But then again all three are extra sassy regardless!

* * *

 **So good news I had time to finish the chapter in record time, bad news it's because I was stuck in bed for a whole day (stupid cold). On the bright side it was relaxing and it's better to be sick now then be sick during finals later. Also sort of bad news, I just found out a little while ago Nyssara is splitting up during Legends! They're casting a new love interest for Sara. My coping process went something like this: Don't blame the new love interest, don't blame the new love interest, don't bash a character for just loving a character that's part of the few ships you actually ship, that's not a legitimate reason to hate a character… (a little while later…) I. BLAME. MERLYN. (Seriously if he didn't kill Sara, this mess, and the season 3 train-wreck, wouldn't have happened). Just so we don't end on a sad note, I also found the new Legends trailer and it is great.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **12/28/15**


	5. 1-5 Fledglings: Three's a Crowd

**Thanks to my friend who edits!**

 **I own nothing! Sorry this late!**

* * *

 **Fledglings: Three's a Crowd**

* * *

Rooftops, why was it always rooftops? Helena wondered. She understands that Sara had a bird motif going on, and a bird's gotta perch, but seriously? Helena rolled her eyes, 'next time I'm picking the meeting spot…'

"Hey." Helena quickly whipped around pulling the crossbow out, pointing it at the only other person of the rooftop.

Sara just stared, "If this is a bad time…"

"Seriously, stop that!" Helena said with exasperation.

"Sorry, but it's too fun!" Sara flippantly declared.

Helena glared at Sara, "I can't believe you agreed to this," Helena muttered.

Sara shrugged, "I thought you were the one who wanted to clean this city up?"

"I thought you couldn't stay here because of the League problem?" Helena shot back.

Another shrug, "Felicity did say she could hide people, I've seen her work, I think I'll be fine for a couple more months."

"You realize she's blackmailing you right?" Helena asked.

"Yes."

"You realize I could take care of it right?" Helena asked.

"Yes."

"You realize you're endangering yourself for no good reason?" Helena asked again.

"Yes."

"You realize if you go down, I'm going down with you, right?" Helena asked.

"Yes."

"You realize if that happens, I'll kill you, right?" Helena asked.

"Yes." Though she doubted that was actually possible.

"You realize the is a stupid idea, even for you." Helena asked.

"Yes." Sara blinked for a moment, "Hey!"

"Sorry, I got tired of the repetitive direction this conversation was moving. But seriously, your last grand scheme was to partner up with someone who tried to headshot you with a cross bow."

Sara shrugged, "I think it worked out."

"I'm just here for the free meals," Helena reasoned.

"You realize that's bullshit, right?" Sara asked.

Helena shrugged, "But seriously, that Felicity probably has some screws loose, I mean Oliver seemed to have a thing for her, so just by that logic alone…"

Sara noted, "You know we both were-"

"That only helps the case."

The Canary raised her eyebrow.

"Can you really say we're the pinnacle of mental health?"

"Point," Sara agreed.

Helena continued, "Plus, she just talks and talks. I wonder if she just talks because she likes the sound of her own voice, 'cause clearly she's not sick of it yet, unlike the rest of us. Sometimes I just want to-"

"You know I can hear you," Felicity's voice rang over the com.

Helena rolled her eyes, "You were meant to, take it as constructive criticism."

"I think it was more like destructive criticism." Felicity retorted.

"Well it would definitely help cut down the size of your ego…" Helena muttered.

Felicity shot back, "Pot, kettle. Have you two met?"

"Cliché."

"I think the gratuitous French word you're looking for is touché."

"Coup d'Etat! I'm overthrowing this oppressive monarch!" Helena declared.

"Déjà vu…" Sara muttered.

"You heard it folks! Helena acknowledged: I am the boss!"

"Didn't you hear? Coup d'Etat! At best you'll be guillotined!" **[1]**

"You're losing people with the history reference…" Sara said.

"I'm surprised she even knows about the French Revolution," Felicity admitted.

Helena reminded, "I got a teaching degree!"

"You could work with kids? I amazed… then again, she would have the same mentality as her students. Angsty? Irrational? Yup!" Felicity noted.

"You'd have the same maturity."

"I think I just said that."

"But I had better delivery."

"Nope!"

"You're so full of it…"

"If it means a witty sense of humor, then yes, I am full of it."

Sara rang in, "Um, robbery? Anyone? Oh, did I mention it was firearms? "

"Psychopathic ass."

"Righteous bitch."

"Why do I feel we're apart of someone's sick comedy routine?" Sara sighed.

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

.: One week later :.

Sin wondered down along the familiar streets of The Glades. If a stranger were to look around, they wouldn't be impressed. Calling The Glades a dump would be a euphemism. However, to the residents, it was still home, and the er… unique character of the Glades gave a grungy charm… 'Nope, this place is still a dump.' Sin thought before reaching a familiar door in an ally.

However, unlike most times, Sin didn't open the door, simply, because she had no reason as someone else's presence stopped her, "Hey," Sara said from behind her.

"You've gotta stop doing that…" Sin muttered, however she didn't really mind it anymore, in fact, this was just part of their greeting routine, it was better then the other cliché ones. As in the fake enthusiasm of, "It's been so long, how are you?" junk.

Sin asked, "So, what are you guys going to call yourself?"

"Sorry?"

"You know? The team name, like the Avengers?" Sin explained.

Sara shook her head with amusement, "I don't think that's our top priority at the moment."

"I call dibs on the naming rights! I promise it will be awesome!" Sin happily declared.

Realizing it was a proclamation and not a request, Sara simply agreed to Sin's terms. At times, Sin could be more suborn than Laurel, Sara noted a couple of times… she just hoped those two never teamed up, especially against her… that was just a nightmare she didn't want to think about.

"Hm… Huntress, Canary, and… wait, does Felicity have a codename?" Sin asked.

Sara thought about it for a moment, "Now that I think about it, I don't think so."

"Do you think she'll let me come up with one?" Sin asked, clearly she'd get along great with a certain member of the Starlab's staff, somewhere in Central City…

"That you'll have to ask her about."

"Ok, so where are they anyways?"

Sara paused for a moment, as if she were carefully phrasing her words, "They're a little tied up at the moment…" only Sara was the only one aware of the irony… which actually made it an inverted case of dramatic irony if one really thought about it. But the narration is getting off topic…

"Oh, ok. So how's that working out?" Sin asked.

Sara shrugged, "It's like a family," she said.

"So, dysfunctional?" Sin offered.

"At this point, dysfunctional would be a euphemism, after all three's a crowd," Sara sighed.

"That bad, huh?"

Another shrug, "Put it this way: the one who's 'died' several times is the straight man in that situation."

Sin looked puzzled, "Wait, I thought you and Nyssa…"

An amused smirk formed on Sara's lips. "That's not what straight man means," she flatly stated.

To save herself from further embarrassment Sin changed the topic, "So where are we going today?"

"It's a surprise."

Sin was 100% sure now it was a surprise, as they both left the Glades, currently heading towards the outskirts of Starling. Far, far from any of their usual hangouts, and much further from home. They finally stopped at one particular neighborhood with one particular house, a very large house that really could be classified as a hotel depending on the number of people that actually lived in the place. Sin guessed there weren't that many people in that one place, considering 1%ers tended to be wasteful, instead utilizing an abundance of unnecessary space for a family of four maybe, while the rest of them out their would be content with a small fraction.

To Sin, and many others, it wasn't just the long distance between the Glades and the outskirts of the city that separated them.

Which only made Sin dread Sara's final destination even more: The Queen manor.

"Seriously?" Sin asked.

Sara joked, "Sometimes, you really sound like a stereotypical teenager."

"Well, I am seven _teen_."

Of all of the snotty rich kid houses, this was probably the worst they could have come to, after all Moira Queen is partially to blame for a lot of crap Sin and many of her friends went through in the past few months. Needless to say, Sin was suppressing a compelling urge to TP the place… wow, she really did sound like a stereotypical teenager…

"…so that's the plan." Sara finished.

Sin looked at Sara, who just said, "You weren't listening, were you?"

"Well… no."

Sara pulled out her knife and unlocked the window in front of them with ease. "We're going inside, you're the look out."

Following Sara inside Sin noted how some of the hallways were very repetitive; she wondered how no one gets lost in a place like this. Sara however, seemed to know exactly where she was going, she knew birds had an uncanny sense of direction, evidenced by the annual migration they did, however Sara knew she wasn't really a bird… right?

As if reading her thoughts, Sara spoke, "I used to come here afterschool, every day since mom and dad worked late. My sister and I also came a lot during the weekends." Sara trailed off staring at some pictures at the wall, her gaze seem to linger several.

One was a picture of a young man with long blonde hair; he had a very stupid grin on his face.

Another was a picture of several kids. The background was the backyard and several tents were set up. Two boys, one was blonde the other had pitch-black hair that contrasted with the other's. Both were happily roasting marshmallows over the fireplace in the center. However, the blonde's was on fire, not that he seemed to notice, but his friend was frantically trying to put in out. On the other side of the campfire were two girls. The brunette was carefully blowing on her marshmallow that was golden to perfection. However, unlike everyone else, the blonde seemed to be enjoying the chocolate, not really paying attention to the rest of the sweets out. In fact, she was more focused on the last kid in the photo, as she was cleaning out marshmallow remnants out of a five-year-old's hair. That last kid was probably the youngest out of all of them.

"This is you, isn't it?" Sin asked pointing to the blonde girl in the picture.

Sara's gaze was focused on a young woman's photo. In the picture the girl had dark hair, she seemed to be in the middle of a large party, but for some reason, despite the festives around her, the girl's smile was far from genuine. "Yah, but in some other lifetime."

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

Felicity sighed, "That-"

"-bitch," Helena finished.

"I can't believe she handcuffed us…" Felicity muttered.

Helena looked around, the two were handcuffed to each other, also both were individually handcuffed to a part of the central railing, "I think I'm more surprised she used three sets of handcuffs…"

"I guess she wanted to be safe," Felicity noted.

"Yah, but these aren't the run of the mill hand cuffs… where did she get these?"

Felicity sheepishly answered, "These were some spare ARGUS cuffs Dig left here… they don't have key holes, they have voice recognition and a password."

Helena adjusted herself to a more comfortable position, "So you can hack it right?"

"I don't have my computer… she took my phone too…"

"Perfect."

"You know she's not letting us out until we resolve out issues, right?" Felicity asked.

Helena sighed, "We're going to be here for a while."

"I get it, you hate me, and I don't think highly of you. But seriously, sooner or later: We. Are. Going. To. Have. To. Pee."

"Well, I hope you're wearing a diaper…"

"You know, if you weren't so negative…"

"Please, save us some time and just send me a list. I'll be sure to look it over and change my ways, especially if Saint Felicity asks me!" Helena's voice portrayed a heavy dose of sarcasm.

"To be fair, I'm just trying to keep you from killing people… I hear it's a crime."

"Look, Princess. I don't give a damn."

"First, that could be your autobiography title. Second, I have a name!"

"Isn't it ironic? Felicity means: the ability to find the appropriate facial expression for one's emotions. But all you do is talk, and talk, and talk… oh, and did I mention? Talk! That's all you do, while Sara and I are out there risking out lives, you sit here. I thought you wanted to save this city, but it looks like we're doing the work. The thing is, someone like you who just shoots their mouths off, in the end they're all just talk."

Felicity remained quiet; she honestly couldn't tell if the silence disproved or supported Helena's statement. Replying had a similar paradox, so silence seemed golden at the moment.

"Wow. Three seconds of silence, it's a new record." Helena stated.

That statement, however, completely destroyed the long awaited silence, "I'm sorry, but does it physically hurt you to be nice?"

"Felicity, you're right I know I we should really get along, after all we're a team. One big happy family! I'm sorry for killing douchebags," Helena happily declared only to dryly add, "Ow… It burns."

"According to my diagnosis, looks like you have a severe case of frequent insensitive behavioral performances. I believe the technical term is: being an ass."

"I think it should of FIBP, sounds cooler."

"Look at that, I was wrong, there's also some symptoms of an inability to completely comprehend someone else, technical term: being a _dumb_ ass."

"ICCSE, even cooler"

"Yup, people better call in now, the world desperately needs a cure for both of these problems…"

.: 2 hours later :.

"I'm bored." Felicity declared.

Helena looked around, "I spy with my little eye something… purple."

"Your crossbow," Felicity said.

Helena nodded, they were a bit limited on material, since the Clock Tower hasn't gone through the renovations Felicity was planning. "I spy something broken."

"The clock face."

Felicity nodded.

"I spy, something sharp."

"Your arrow."

"Which one?"

"That one," Felicity said, pointing at the arrow up at the center of the ceiling.

"How do you know for sure that's the one?" Helena asked.

Felicity pointed out, "It's the only one we can see."

"That would give it away."

"I spy something…"

"The handcuffs." Helena said.

"You didn't even let me finish!"

"Well?"

"Yes. It was the handcuffs."

"I spy something fake," Helena said.

Felicity looked around, "Your mask?"

Helena shook her head.

"The take out food?"

"Well, there was some McDonalds I think… But no."

The blonde continued to scan the area, looking for something more fake than a Happy Meal, but seriously, is such a thing possible? "Don't know."

"You," Helena stated.

Felicity's eyes displayed surprise.

Helena elaborated, "You may act all nice and morally superior, but I think deep down, we aren't so different. While you protest killing, you seem to be fine holding an innocent family over another person's head just to further your own goals. Not to mention, your last partner was a killer too. I know a fake smile when I see it. I used to wear one after Michael died, before I decided to be more… productive… Besides, those witty comments prove you're not as nice as you seem, they have way too much bite. That smile just hides some ugly darkness. Maybe it's true you haven't seen as much as Sara or me, but it's definitely there." **[2]**

While Felicity wanted to interject a protest, the words remained locked down her throat.

"Honestly, I think because of that fact, I don't hate you."

Felicity's eyes were wide as saucers.

Helena's eyes locked with Felicity's, "I don't understand 'perfect' people, they aren't natural. They aren't genuine. That ugly nature, at least that means there's a person in you I can relate to, so I can't hate you."

"I guess even a broken clock is right twice a day," Felicity said breaking off the shared gaze by drilling holes through the floor with her eyes alone.

"…and those are the comments I'm talking about."

"Tell me, why did you let Oliver kill, but you protest when I do?"

Felicity paused to order her words, "He only killed when it was necessary, and you kill anyone at any opportunity."

Helena burst into uncontrollable, laughter?

The IT girl stared at Helena, as if the brunette had grown a second head, "Wha…"

After taking a few breaths to calm herself, Helena responded, "I just find it funny and ironic. I see so clearly you, but you don't see me."

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

Sin stood outside of a bedroom. However, she wasn't out in the open, instead hiding in the corner of the hall.

Meanwhile, Sara was inside the bedroom, unbolting the air vent cover up high on the wall. Reaching inside, Sara felt a pile of papers and a box further in, pulling all of it out she smiled, "Some things never change, Ollie."

Taking her time sorting through everything, and with any luck she'd find what she was looking for. On the top was, a cheesy love poem he wrote to Laurel when they were dating. Looking at that piece of paper made Sara feel a long list of emotions, but the most prominent was probably remorse.

Casting that one aside Sara sorted through more. To no surprise, most of the documents were related to the Hood, the Hood's targets (the people, not the inanimate objects), or both. Well, at least the few blurred photos still got his good side.

Putting those in the same place as the love letter, Sara sighed and opened the box, which only held a flash drive.

"Crap!" Sin squealed from the outside.

"Who are you and what are you doing in my house?" Thea asked.

* * *

 **[1] Basically, this is reference to the fact Louis XIV was executed by his own people via guillotine because he was a really bad king.**

 **[2] Personally, I view Felicity's character like this ever since season 3 and now it's showing a little in season 4. But she's 95% season 1-2 Felicity here.**

* * *

 **Reviews:**

highlander348: Thanks! Feeling better now. Yup, Felicity… sometimes… she's scary…

MoonlightCove: I'm not going to rush things, Laurel and Sara will move at their own pace… just not at Arrows ridiculously slow pace at time (seriously 60 episodes for Thea to learn about Team Arrow?). I think I'll hurl if Ray and Sara get together… I just can't see it happening.

kindleflame5: Evil, beware the dysfunctional family is on the prowl.

Guest: You wish is granted!

* * *

 **Legends was awesome! Sassy Sara is the best! It was really scary on all of the shows tonight… Flash: Barry went Oliver on us… Arrow: Laurel was the Diggle of the episode… Legends: Ray was negative… Sara was the ultimate optimist… Ok, so I'm really sorry that this chapter is late, but I really had to study for finals. The next chapter will be coming a bit sooner to make it up to you patient people!**

 **Thanks for reading, please review!**

 **1/22/16**


	6. 1-6 Fledglings: Fight?

**Thanks to my editing friend!**

 **I own nothing!**

* * *

 **Fledglings: Fight?**

* * *

.: One week earlier :.

*Knock* *Knock*

Thea anxiously waited outside of the door, 'This is so stupid…'

However, it didn't take long for the door to open, revealing none other than Laurel Lance, "Thea?"

"Uh… hi?" was the nervous reply. Now normally Thea wouldn't call Laurel intimidating, but then again, Thea normally didn't knock on the Lance's door, at 2:00 AM… uninvited and unannounced. Luckily, for the young Queen, the lawyer seemed to be already up, evident by the mug of coffee in her hands.

Laurel quickly invited Thea in by offering some coffee. But Thea didn't want the caffeine, so Laurel just handed her some hot chocolate. Both were on the couch sipping from their respective mugs, awkward silence filled the room until Laurel's patents gave out, "So not to be rude or anything, but why are you at my house in the middle of the night?"

"Well, I spent the night at Roy's…"

"…and you got into a fight."

"Pretty much. I needed some space from him, but walking all the way home at this hour, in this city, alone…"

"…say no more. I have a spare bedroom available, you're welcome to spend the night."

"Thanks," Thea murmured, it was evident that she and Roy didn't get much sleep… doing other things… at night…

Laurel picked up on this… 'Young love… wait, I'm not _that_ old…'

"Do you…" Thea trailed off.

The older woman paused and waited for Thea to order her thoughts again, "Do you think I should visit my mom?"

Laurel asked, "When was the last time you visited?"

Silence was Thea's only response, Laurel inferred the meaning the same, "Then you should definitely go, and it's been about three weeks."

Thea muttered, "That's what Roy said…"

"So that was the fight?" Laurel asked.

Thea simply nodded.

"To be fair, he has a point."

"I need some more time," Thea stated.

"You should still see her, she is your mother," Laurel reasoned.

"That's exactly what he said."

"Then again, she did help destroy up half the city…"

"What I said to him."

"In her defense, she prevented a lot of casualties…"

"He said to me."

"…she should have confessed earlier…"

"I explained."

"…I don't think Merlyn would let her…"

"He said."

"…she still lied…"

"I said."

"Yah… this is going to take a while to process…" Laurel muttered while opening the door at the end of the hall, "The bed's made so you can sleep whenever, but I'll be up for a little longer."

Yawning, Thea asked, "Another case?"

"Not exactly, well, yes, just not a client's."

Thea merely raised an eyebrow as a response.

"A personal project," Laurel answered.

Plopping down on the bed Thea mumbled, "If that's the case, you should go to bed."

"Don't worry, in a little bit…"

Thea, however, knew better, "So how long have you been working this late?"

Laurel cursed in her head before quietly stating, "Almost two weeks."

"Two weeks!?" Thea threw herself out of bed and immediately started pushing Laurel out of the guest room and into Laurel's own. Thea pushed Laurel onto the bed and folded her own arms before sternly scolding, "Dinah Laurel Lance! Go to sleep this instant! Do you have any ideas of the health issues you'll face down the line? I will tie you down to this bed if I have to. Not to mention I can grab some tranquilizer darts too."

Laurel only laughed thinking of the days she had a shit ton of homework and planned to stay up all night to finish, but one person never allowed her to, "You sound like…"

The room grew quiet, as they both knew the exact name Laurel was going to use.

"I miss her," Thea quietly admitted.

"Same."

Putting her empty coffee mug on the night stand Laurel said, "It's weird, I've been thinking about her a lot for the past two weeks, I'm not sure why all of the sudden."

"I thought of Oliver a lot. I think about dad and Sara a lot too. It's weird, but I think of her just as much as I thought of Oliver. Maybe it's because we saw each other so much," Thea added.

"Those were some scary weekends…" Laurel noted.

Thea threw her arms in the air in defense, "Hey, we could have been worse. There's a lot of pent up issues for the younger siblings, we teamed up for amusement and survival."

Laurel rolled her eyes, "Yes, the days juvenile pranks… I still can't figure out how you duct taped Oliver to the roof."

Thea smirked, "A magician never reveals her secrets, plus that was mainly Sara, I just kidnapped him… although I think Tommy helped her."

"Oh, yes, that was the week Oliver crashed Tommy's first car."

There was a quick pause to ponder, "Or was it his third car?" Thea asked.

"Wait, are we talking about the grandma car or the convertible?"

"Didn't he have two convertibles?"

Laurel thought about it for a second, "Yes, but he'd only be mad about one, remember, the other was hot pink?"

"I think his dad was playing a prank on him… or Oliver… maybe a conspiracy," Thea concluded.

The signal of Laurel's defeat was issued through a yawn, "Ok, maybe sleep's good."

"Gee… and all I had to do was threaten to tranquilize you."

"Shut up… I swear, you're just as bad as her sometimes…"

Thea was making her way out of Laurel's room before she accidentally knocked over a large pile of papers on the way out. "Sorry," Thea said while cleaning everything up. Laurel lazily rose out of bed to help the younger girl.

Several newspaper headliners caught Thea's eyes, most were about a certain vigilante in The Glades, "What's all of this?" Thea asked.

"That personal project."

Thea scanned through the stacks, a lot of photos were blurred pictures of a blond woman in a mask, and a couple had another women with a crossbow. "So are you starting a fanclub?" Thea jokingly asked, handing the papers back to Laurel.

Laurel took the papers and began to reorganize them, "No, been there done that. The last vigilante I did that to, well, we have no idea what happened to him."

"I wonder where he is," Thea asked rhetorically.

Using this as a Segway, Laurel quickly asked, "Speaking of which, where's your brother?" though they both missed the signs of dramatic irony… wait wasn't that the point or dramatic irony?

"On vacation. It's just great isn't it? Mom's in prison and Oliver wants to go globe trotting!" Thea look up at the ceiling and added, "Real cool bro." Returning her eyes back to Laurel Thea added, "He also said he had no idea when he'd be back…"

'Damn it, Oliver... some things never change…' Laurel thought before answering Thea's question, "I'm trying to track her down, and hopefully I'll get some answers."

"What kind of answers?"

The lawyer answered, "Just some personal ones."

Thea didn't press further on, but she did continue the conversation, "Maybe I could help? I mean by the looks of things, you could really use some sleep." Thea noted the state of disarray the room was. Laurel Lance and messy didn't belong in the same sentence, unless to word "wasn't" was in between.

Placing the pile back to its original position, Laurel smiled, "I couldn't ask you to."

Thea shook her head, "It's fine, and actually I don't have many plans now a days."

"Ok, thanks." Laurel said, she glanced at the clock before continuing, "I'll fill you in more in the morning since it's almost 3:30 AM."

"Fair enough."

-BIRDS OF PREY-

Thea awoke to the scent of smoke. Now, there's a perfectly logical explanation for why Laurel's apartment was filled with smoke and Thea was surprisingly calm: Laurel Lance was cooking. The bigger mystery was actually: how come the fire alarms didn't go off? But, that's not the point. As Thea entered the kitchen the sound of a fire extinguisher could be heard. Which was not surprising, as Laurel was at the stove spraying a pan and its contents. What was in said pan? Your guess is as good as the narrators. But now the narration is breaking the fourth wall… oh, well!

Peering into the pan, Thea asked, "Should I guess or do I need a forensic scientist?"

Laurel tossed the mystery substance into the trash, revealing several other globs just like it, "I forgot what I was making… Restaurant?"

"Restaurant," Thea confirmed.

The two quickly entered a restaurant a few blocks away from Laurel's place. Apparently, Laurel was a regular since the waiter already knew her order and only came over to take Thea's. It really wasn't a big mystery as to why the restaurant staff was so familiar with the Lance's.

"I still think it might have worked if I tried it again," Laurel pondered while taking a sip of her coffee.

Thea gave her an 'are you crazy?' look, "I'm sorry, but breakfast is serious business. I do want to survive it, after all the rest of the day tries to kill me anyways… let breakfast be the time those diabolical forces call a truce with me!"

"Ok, yup, breakfast. Serious business," Laurel noted from the overdramatic performance in front of her. Pulling out several folders Laurel then spread them out on the table.

"Wow…" though the three letter word was an abbreviated 'stalker much?'

Sorting them out, Laurel explained, "So I've been tracking the blond woman for almost two weeks. Most of the time she sticks around The Glades at night, but there have been a few nights when she was a no show."

One woman's photo caught Thea's eye, she knew this woman, Helena Bertinelli, one of Oliver's many girlfriends.

"She's been cosplaying along with the woman, lately they've been partnering up."

Thea asked, "So have you found her?"

"No, she's just as difficult to track."

"So in other words: we're still at square one." Laurel's only response was to hand the young Queen a few more papers.

Thea found one particular map, it had several circles with numbers like 2:49, 5:00, 1:23, and a bunch more random numbers, "What's this exactly?"

"Lately, she's been going after other kinds of criminals. At first I didn't see much of a pattern until I started talking to my dad. Every criminal she hunts outside of her normal parameters were reported on a police radio. Then I did some digging and those numbers are her response time, starting from the end of the police report until she showed up to the scene of the crime." **[1]**

Judging from the staggering numbers, Thea wondered if the blonde woman or Laurel ever slept, "Ok, so the longer it takes her to respond the further away she was from the location, meaning we can use this timing to find the her relative location."

"Yah, so far I've narrowed it down to the section of The Glades," Laurel circled the a part of the map, "However, that's as much as I can narrow it down, it still is several blocks."

"I guess we can rule out places with a lot of people…" Thea noted.

Laurel shook her head, "No, we can't; dad finds a lot criminals that hide in popular areas so they blend into a crowd easier."

"So this is our lead?" Thea asked, it was impressive she'd admit, but they still have a little less than half of The Glades to search.

A note from Laurel's pocked was unfolded and found its way onto the table. Thea read the note as Laurel explained, "Luckily, she has more than one friend." **[2]**

"So, this Sin person, you know where to find her?" Thea asked.

Laurel took another swig of her coffee before answering; "Yes, and hopefully she'll lead us to her."

.: Present day :.

"I'm calling the cops." Thea declared.

Sin nervously sputtered, "Wait!"

Thea only looked slightly annoyed, "Look…"

"Sin."

"Ok, look Sin, this isn't my ideal Saturday afternoon either." Thea sighed.

Sin waved her hands in panic, "I'll just go, now. No cops."

Thea pulled out her phone and Sin paled. However, the cops never heard anything as Thea quickly collapsed into unconsciousness. "That was taking too long," Sara said after catching Thea.

"I had it handled."

Sara raised an eyebrow, "She was calling the cops."

"Point…" Sin muttered, "Wait, what did you…"

"Pressure point." Sara answered before the question was finished.

The two began to drag Thea into her bedroom, Sara's eyes tended to linger on the young Queen every now and then. Sin noticed but didn't really make much of it, unaware of the history.

Gently laying Thea on her bed Sara surveyed the room. It wasn't familiar to her at all. Then again, the last time she was in this particular room was six years ago, and of all people she could vouch six years was a long time. The my little pony posters were gone, luckily, the boy band posters were too… those were bleak years… Even the bed itself was different, before is had bright, vibrant colors, today they were more mutated earth tones like an olive green. The bright white night stand was now a dark brown one. Luckily, that meant that creepy clown lamp was also gone.

Sara even wondered if this was still little Speedy's bedroom. The only thing that reassured her it was were some photos of the Queens and several archery trophies, 'Just like her brother…' Sara mused. **[3]**

"So, did you get what you came for?" Sin asked.

A smirk appeared on Sara, "Your doubt wounds me," she said while holding up the flash drive.

Sin gave a dopy grin in response, "Well, I guess we should go before Sleeping Beauty wakes up," however, she wasn't really paying attention and backed up into the nightstand. The nightstand was sturdy and looked no worse for wear, but a box on the night stand fell, scattering its contents all over the floor. Sin picked one up, "Is this what I think…"

-BIRDS OF PREY-

At first all she heard was whispers, "You're crazy!"

"Helena, I just…"

"No, she's right."

"Well, you two are getting along… I guess the therapy worked…"

"Don't change the subject! We're so getting you back for that…" two people yelled.

"What were you thinking?"

"She wasn't."

"How?"

"We can tell her it's a dream!"

"She's not stupid!"

"Well, it we go by genetics…"

"It might work?"

"Shit, she's waking up…"

Thea's eyes snapped open, however she wasn't entirely sure if she was awake based on the scene she saw before her. For starters, two of the four people in front of her were cosplaying as vigilantes… or they were vigilantes, either way it was a strange sight to behold. One of them, the blonde one wore a mask, but Thea recognized the other one. 'Helena?' The only thing stranger about the scene was the fact Helena was handcuffed to another blonde, both were also cuffed to some central railing… wait she knew the blonde too, wasn't she Oliver's girlfriend? Started with an F… it'd come to her eventually. **[4]**

"Wait, where am I? Did you kidnap me!?" Thea panicked.

Awkwardly, Sin answered, "A clock tower?"

"Yes." Helena bluntly answered the second question.

"Hell, no." Thea said about to leave, but then she noticed the one with a mask was watching her. Blue met green and Thea felt something eerily familiar about those eyes that stared back, except there was something foreign too. They seemed icy, but there was a strange amount of warmth in those eyes now.

"Wait, who are-"

"Call me, the Canary," there was a small smile? Thea wasn't too sure.

"Great, now I'm in comic con…"

Sin noted, "That would be pretty cool actually… we should totally go later!"

"Too many weirdoes," The other three stated in unison.

Thea shook her head, she was definitely going crazy, or the world was going crazy, or maybe both. Yah, probably both, "Hi, still here. Let's try this again: You _kidnapped_ me?"

"Yes, try to keep up," Helena snapped.

"Be nice," both blondes said in unison.

"This isn't fair, I'm out numbered," Helena complained.

The blonde with glasses tried to walk over somewhere, forgetting she was still cuffed, so like a dog on a short leash she gave a small yelp when she felt the restriction, "Uh, can we get this off? Please, I need to pee!"

The Canary just said, "Disengage cuffs."

The cuffs opened, "Seriously?" the two former captives asked.

"I knew you'd get a kick out of that," Canary said with a smirk. **[5]**

"Why?" Thea asked in exasperation. Thea thought she'd be more terrified if she was ever kidnapped, but for some reason, she felt strangely safe. Should she blame Stockholm syndrome?

"Bird Brain here says you need help," Helena was referring to The Canary.

Canary only rolled her eyes.

"I really don't need any…"

"I found these in your room." Canary held up a plastic bag with several heroine needles, some were empty. **[6]**

Thea stomped up to the Canary and tried to snatch the bag out of her hands, but she only grasped the air, "You can't just sneak into my house and steal stuff!"

"You need help and this, this isn't going to solve anything," Canary said referring to the bag's contents.

"Don't you think I know that?" Thea snapped.

Canary answered, "Doesn't look like it."

"My mom is in prison, my brother is missing, and my dad and other brother who would have stayed is dead! Can you really blame me?!"

"I don't blame you, but you need help."

"Where were you six years ago?! What can you do? The Hood couldn't stop the city from dying! He didn't save my dad! He didn't save Tommy! My mom still went to prison! Do you really think you can save this city?! That you're heroes?!"

The Canary went silent after that.

Helena instead spoke, "I'm sorry, but I'm supposed to feel sorry for this? There's no excuse, I've met your brother and he loves you dearly, your dad too I'd presume, and your mom might be in prison, but do you visit her? Oh, and by the way, a guy with a bow and arrow can't do anything about a guy who got a building dropped on him. So what, your solution is drugs? Wow, hey Canary how much heroine do you think I'm entitled to by that logic? How about you? None? Good! See, everyone has issues. That's how this world works. Stop blaming everyone else for your problems."

Thea and Helena were glaring at each other.

"You want these? Fine, take them, we'll leave you alone. Be some worthless trash that wastes their life away. Aren't you tired of being weak? Aren't you tired of life giving you all of this shit? Don't you want to fight? To be strong?"

Helena held out the bag for Thea, "Your choice."

* * *

 **[1] The pattern change is because of Felicity's involvement with the group.**

 **[2] Just to be clear: that was the note Sin left Laurel back in the second chapter.**

 **[3] If you look carefully in Arrow's first episode, you'll see Thea has several archery trophies in her room, I'm not making this up. They've been foreshadowing things from day one!**

 **[4] At this point in time Olicity was never a thing; Thea just assumed Oliver and Felicity were dating.**

 **[5] An Agents of Shield reference: Skye had a similar reaction with Coulson, under similar circumstances.**

 **[6] Don't worry Thea's not going Laurel season 2 on us. I just figured since she had a heroine addiction in season 1 she probably had a small relapse in between season 1 and 2, sadly, it tends to happen. In fact she'll have a similar role season 2 Roy had, without the Mirakuru and a very different story line.**

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Reviews: (By the way thank you so much, I got so many reviews last chapter! You people are amazing!)

highlander348: Personally, I always felt like Sara had mischievous streak in her, she just never had the right opportunity to show it. The fact Sara cuffed Felicity and Helena shows two things: 1) Felicity and Helena's bickering was _that_ annoying 2) I really liked sassy Sara in Legends. The pacing irked me a lot, so this story will have a compromise for the order everyone learns about the vigilante's identities.

kindleflame5: I've always planned to do that, but it will be a bit later down the line. That was one of my favorite scene in season 2! The only thing is, Felicity won't be some super fighter like Helena or Sara, but she'll be slightly above a season 1 Laurel. I believe each character should have strengths and weaknesses, Felicity is mainly there for brains, if she was a super fighter, well, she wouldn't need a team really she'd be too OP.

Alex: Thanks so much! I was actually a little worried about that scene because it was the first action scene that wasn't a strait out fight! Glad you liked it! Oh, and I hoped this update satisfied you!

Guest: Oops, you're right, I'll fix that soon. Thanks! (note as of 2/17/16: the edit's been made, thanks!)

Dell03: Honestly, there was a time I forgot Laurel was Oliver's childhood friend because they didn't reference that for a while… I always felt they needed some more scenes like that for all five of those characters. As you've seen in this chapter, yes Sara and Thea were close. I imagined their childhoods like so: the older kids hung out (Laurel, Oliver, and Tommy) while the two younger kids (Sara and Thea) hung out/plotted against them, but this wasn't true 100% of the time.

MoonlightCove: Sort of? I noted earlier, Thea will have a similar role to season 2 Roy, minus the Mirakuru. Yes, that scene was awesome!

Guest: I have no words for my gratitude for the review so, just: Thanks!

Lily: Thank you!

Guest: Sin's skills will make an appearance later, don't worry.

(This would also be a good time to say, if there are multiple reviewers that go by "Guest" I'll assume they are all different people, unless specified.)

* * *

 **Ok, so I know I typically do an author's note here, but I'll save that for next chapter… because I did two! Surprise! I couldn't get this chapter up earlier than usual as promised last chapter so instead I've written two, so don't hurt me for two cliffhangers in a row (even though most of the chapters had cliffhanger endings)… wait isn't this an author's note?**

 **Thanks for reading and please review!**

 **2/7/16**


	7. 1-7 Fledglings: Awkward

**Thanks to my editing friend! Sorry I dumped two chapters on you in one day.**

 **I own nothing!**

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 **Fledglings: Awkward...**

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Thea grabbed the bag from Helena, much to everyone else's shock, and Sara's disappointment. However, both only lasted for a full second as Thea tossed it to the ground and smashed the bag, "I'm going to be strong." Thea muttered before running out of the Clock Tower.

Helena smirked.

Sara was about to go after her, before Sin beat her to it and Helena held Sara back, "I think the kid should do this, you're a little too… attached."

"But I should-"

"-she can handle this, don't worry. Just in case I'll watch them," with that Helena climbed up the central railing, presumably to go roof hopping. Leaving Sara and Felicity alone. Sara slumped down to the floor and removed her wig and mask.

"Awkward… That, was awkward... I really mean that as the actual awkward, meaning without skill or grace, not the synonym for weird that for some reason everyone believes the word means… it's not the same, but then again I should know because I'm awkward, in the real way and misunderstanding, but I mean in this case at least because everyone was just shouting at each other… and wow, I'm doing it right now aren't I?"

Sara blankly joked, "It was an awkward run on sentence."

"So, spill,"

"What?"

"Why do you care so much about Thea? I mean, I get it's not really my business, but whenever Oliver went into brooding mode, I would try to let him brood, but I failed and talked to him a lot… I mean I talk a lot, so I guess I talk even more than usual. Ok, I'm just making this worse, aren't I? I'll stop talking now."

Sara shook her head, "Don't worry, talking a lot is a part of your charm."

"Oh, really? I wasn't sure. I mean I talk more when I'm nervous, well like I said more than usual and…"

"I make you nervous?" Sara asked.

"Let's face it that blackmail thing, no one's really buying… and well, it's all of your kapow and bam!" Felicity illustrated by throwing some fake punches in the air.

"Cute," Sara let a phantom smile form, "you know, if you ever want to some 'kapow' and 'bam' of your own…"

"Yes, please. Some self-defense lessons would be great and overdue… seriously, I should have thought of this sooner, this city has issues after all."

A couple boxes in the center of the room were moved to the corner. Sara motioned for Felicity to stand in the nearly cleared space, "First, we're going to work on blocking." It was an ideal place to start, since the Clock Tower currently had no punching dummies or padding besides a mat they were standing on for Felicity to work with. Also, Sara assumed starting defensively would suit a girl like Felicity more since Sara didn't see Felicity throwing the first punch anytime soon.

Felicity stood it what she assumed would be a decent stance, but Sara spread her legs further apart, "Stronger foundation, strong punch and better balance."

"I thought we were blocking first?"

"We are, but you should be prepared to throw a punch at any time, people can surprise you or they'll make a very stupid mistake and present you with an opening. For now, always take advantage of an opening."

Sara moved Felicity's hands up and more in front of Felicity's chest, "Ok, this will be your basic stance, for now, just fall back into this position if you need to regain your balance or composure."

"I'm going to throw a punch at you, I want you to block."

Sara's first came towards Felicity before she could protest, she instinctively used her hand to stop Sara's first, "Not bad, but one problem." Sara over powered Felicity and extended her hand fully; her first never met Felicity's face, instead stopping a couple of inches before Felicity's jaw. "When blocking, keep in mind, you only have to worry about the punches that can actually reach you. You don't force contact, you only block when you need to, other wise you throw your balance off."

A few blocks later Felicity's form started to improve. Sara then moved onto punches, "It doesn't matter how much or how well you block, that means jack if you can't punch. It doesn't matter how much you endure if you never fight back."

After punches, Sara moved on basic evasiveness because in an ideal world one would only have to block long and well enough until an opening presented itself, then one solid blow later you'd win. The problem was the world they lived in ate ideal for breakfast. A lot of times people could just over power blocks, or they had weapons, or there was more than one of them, honestly, life had too many variables. Sometimes one wouldn't have a free hand available to block, hence just dogging the attack saved time. **[1]**

In the end of the day, Felicity had only grasped the basics of basics, but she didn't seem to mind and to no one's surprise she was an eager student, "So what's next?"

Sara tossed Felicity a towel and some water, "I'm thinking lunch, I think we still have some left over Chinese food."

"That sounds good," Felicity looked around, "Maybe we should work on making this place a bit more homey?"

"I think you should save your money, I'm not sticking around for more than a couple of months. I'm not sure about Helena, but I think she'll move once I'm gone, she hates this place."

To Helena's argument, she had a point. After all the new additions Felicity provided were low pretty low budget, since she and Helena had a similar conversation before, it ending in whole "I don't need charity" speech/glare. The training matt was to the left of the central railing. Felicity's table, an unfoldable one she kept her laptop, was by the staircase, a strategic (in case things got real and she had to flee quickly), but somewhat lonely corner. Under the desk were several thermo bags to help keep the food fresh. A few boxes, containing some first aid stuff, targets plastic targets for Helena, a some extra padding in case the sparing got rougher, and a gun, just in case the layer was compromised, were in the opposite corner Felicity's desk was, while a few unfoldable, plastic chairs were scattered about.

Felicity nervously chuckled, "Let me guess, she doesn't like the floor boards creaking?"

"That was one complaint, but hey, at least it's not cliché according to her."

Felicity asked, "…So about Thea…"

"Oh… we're back to that…"

"Well, the training was nice, but I still think you should talk about it."

Sara grabbed the Chinese food before explaining, "You know Ollie and I knew each other when we were kids right?"

"Yah, the Lance and Queen family soap opera has been mentioned time to time."

Handing Felicity some chopsticks before continuing, "Laurel and I would go over every weekend, since Mom would be too busy with her university life and Dad would be working on police business. Ollie's parents were busy too, but they would had a nanny to look after their kids. A lot of times Tommy would be there too. So Laurel, Tommy, and Oliver would always hang out, Laurel didn't always like having her little sister crashing her time with her friends, so I typically talked to Thea."

"So you were close?"

"Growing up, we hung out a lot. Let's just say, school wasn't the best for me socially."

"Seriously? I heard you were quite the party girl."

Sara took a deep breath, "It was more like I crashed parties, since no one really wanted me around. Let's just say I pissed some of the powerful popular girls off and they made school Hell… well in retrospect, that was nothing compared to…"

"Oh, yah, I get it. The same kind of girls would have done that with me, but I worked them into a position were they couldn't be mean to me."

Curiosity was present in Sara's voice, "How'd you do that?"

"I tutored most of them, so if they pissed me off, they'd fail all of their classes."

"Wow. If you think about it, besides my canary, Thea was my only friend, well no, there was one other, but that's a story for another time." **[2]**

"That sounded like past tense." Felicity pointed out.

Sara sighed, "Yah, well then middle school started for her and she got popular, she hung out more with friends her age and less with me. I don't blame her though, we were kids after all."

"Well I guess that's why you were friends with a bird."

"Don't insult my bird! She was a lot smarter than most people, I missed out on nothing."

Felicity deadpanned, "somehow, I can't find a sound argument against that statement."

Sara returned to the topic, "I guess she was the closest thing I had to a little sister, back then at least. Now, that's Sin. But it's weird, I still thought of her as little Speedy until recently. I mean I new she was growing up, but I never really _knew_ until I saw it for my own eyes. Little Speedy's not so little anymore."

'So, Thea's a living, physical reminder for all of the time Sara lost after The Gambit,' Felicity sumarized.

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

Fight or flight. Those are the two options people are given; it's instinct. If one doesn't fight, then they fly, or in people's case run. It was an either or, a Boolean, only two options, but Thea Queen found a third. Somehow, Thea Queen was running and fighting.

The streets of The Glades were foreign to Thea, unlike Sin and Helena who had the home field advantage. However, Helena wasn't directly chasing the young Queen, instead she just kept Thea within eyesight. Sin, on the other hand, was definitely trying to catch Thea. Thea tried weaving through the people she saw, but Sin was much more agile. Thea still managed to keep a fair distance between the two, thanks to her head start.

But Thea lost that good distance along a small staircase, as she quickly ran down them while Sin slid down on the railing, saving a lot of time.

"Hey!" Sin screamed, she was almost on top of Thea.

Thea just ignored her and kept running, down the streets, and then a sharp turn into an ally. She didn't move forward, she hit a dead end.

"Go away," Thea flatly ordered.

"She, no, we just want to help," Sin was initially referring to Sara.

"So you kidnapped me?"

Sin shrugged, "To be fair, I think it's initiation of some kind, Helena kidnaped Felicity, be happy she didn't put her crossbow to your head… Helena I mean."

Thea deadpanned, "Sounds like one dysfunctional family."

"If that's the case, I'm _not_ the dad," Helena said after jumping down from the building's roof and to the ground with the rest of them.

"I think we've established you were the cool aunt," Sin reminded.

"Then what's birdy?"

"I'd say the big sister for me…"

"Wait, so I'm her aunt too? That I don't think that works, I mean we're about the same age…"

"…uh hi? Remember me?" Thea asked, annoyed they left her out of the conversation, sure she could have bolted, but the ally entrance was blocked and she doubted she could climb the fencing before Sin. Talking seemed like the only answer.

"Oh, right…" Helena muttered, no one could tell if she legitimately forgot Thea, or if she was just being her normal trolling self.

"Uh, so do you a speech prepared for her?" Sin asked.

Helena threw her arms in the air, "I thought you had the speech prepared?"

"No, I was just chasing her down," Sin clarified.

Thea face palmed, "Does this normally happen?"

"If you mean, do we normally kidnap a kid for a heroine addiction, she runs off, and we chase her down, but fail because we have no speech prepared? Then no, not typically," Helena and Sin answered in perfect and deadpan unison.

A sigh escaped Thea, "Why me?"

"Drug addiction? Remember we just went over this," Sin asked completely sincere.

"Right," Thea's voice dripped with sarcasm.

Helena declared, "Ok, time to wing it!"

Sin and Thea shared an 'are you kidding me?' look.

"Geese, you have the same sense of humor as your brother, in other words: non-existent."

Thea's eyes narrowed a little at the mention of Oliver.

"Yup, definitely seeing the resemblance," Helena noted.

"I'm surprised he told his girlfriend anything," Thea spat.

"Wait, time out, you dated her brother?" Sin asked.

"It's a long story," Helena said.

'Wait, Helena is Huntress…' the gears in Thea's head were starting to turn, 'Oliver and Helena dated around the same time as The Huntress teamed up with the Hood…' Thea's eyes widened in realization, "My brother was the Hood?!"

Sin and Helena both went slack jawed. "Didn't see that coming," Sin said is genuine shock while Helena flatly stated.

"FU-"

"-Laurel?" Thea asked, now noticing behind Helena and Sin was none other than Laurel Lance.

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

Laurel held a paper bag in her hands, she glared at Helena before turning to Thea, "Get, out of here," it was a definite order.

Thea and Sin wisely took this opportunity to leave, Thea in utter confusion and Sin presumably to do damage control, or to warn Sara.

"Laurel Lance, the plot thins," Helena snarked.

However, Laure wasn't having any of Helena's attitude and pulled out the contents in her bag, a gun.

Pointing the gun at Helena, Laurel's hand shook a little, "Call her."

Despite the gun faced towards her, Helena remained as bold as ever and continued to play her game, "Who ever do you mean?"

"The blonde vigilante."

"Oh, then not happening."

Helena wondered if Sara would want to even meet her sister, especially under these circumstances.

Laurel cocked the gun. "Call her," this time her voice much calmer, but more threatening and demanding.

"So you'll point a gun at her?" Helena asked.

The question slightly unnerved Laurel, what was she going to do? She wanted answers for why she felt a connection to this stranger. Laurel wondered if she ever had an idea for how the meeting would go if, no, when she finally caught the vigilante. But, she probably never thought about pointing a gun at her.

"Since when do you care about other people?" Laurel tried to distract herself.

Helena simply answered, "She's my _friend_."

Lowering the gun Laurel asked, "Please, call her."

Helena heard something else in Laurel's voice, it was still calm, but it wasn't an order, instead there was something else. She guessed it was desperation. If Helena had the chance to see Michael again she probably be pretty desperate too. But would she still try to find him even if Michael didn't want her to?

Helena didn't know.

But, Laurel, she knew.

She knew exactly what she'd do.

Damn a lawyer's conviction.

But.

Helena respected that.

She pulled out her phone.

In the end this was still Sara's choice.

"Put it on speaker, please," Laurel asked.

Helena did so, a couple of rings later Sara picked up, "Hey Birdy, look we have a little, situation," Helena chose her words carefully.

"What kind of situation?" the voice over the phone asked.

Laurel seemed to freeze for a moment after the response, did that voice sound familiar?

Helena wondered, would she recognize Michael's voice after all this time?

Probably not.

"Laurel Lance."

There was an uneasy silence that lasted what felt like several years.

"Ok, I'll be there soon."

Laurel's grip went limp and the gun clanked against the ground.

"What? Aren't you happy?" Helena asked.

"Huh?" Laurel seemed to be in a daze.

"You're getting what you wanted."

Was this what Laurel wanted?

Sure, the Lance had spent the last few weeks tirelessly searching for this woman, but… but for some reason there was some sort of foreboding feeling in her stomach.

Especially since she heard that voice on the other line.

She remembered someone else telling her, "The first thing you forget about a person is their voice."

Who said that?

Laurel couldn't remember.

"I just didn't think it'd be this easy."

Helena stated, "A lot of things are easy, if you just ask."

"Still, this feels so anti-climatic to me."

'Oh, there's going to be a climax that's for sure, whether or not Sara told Laurel.' Helena was sure.

"Look, I know we aren't friends, we probably never will be."

"You can leave out the probably," Laurel didn't mean that to come out as rude or mean, despite how it sounded. But honestly, how could goody-two-shoes Laurel Lance ever get along with a hardened criminal who's committed several murders.

Helena picked up on this but kept her thoughts to herself, 'If you can't see yourself getting along with me… then how is she going to react with Sara?'

"Do me one favor, put the gun away before my friend comes."

Helena walked up to Laurel and picked up the gun, "on second thought, I'll take it."

Laurel looked frightened, the Huntress had a gun and was only inches away from her.

Helena sighed, a click was heard, "Here," Helena placed something in Laurel's hand.

It was the gun's ammunition.

"I think I'll ask for a different favor, if you don't mind."

Laurel didn't protest she was still a little surprised by Helena's gesture.

It was small.

But it was a gesture nonetheless.

"When my friend gets here, go easy on her…"

The request didn't surprise Laurel as much as she thought it would.

"…please."

But, that, that did.

"She's been to several Hells and back. By surviving all sorts of horrors she's stronger for it. But I know…"

Helena trailed off a little, walking away, out of Laurel's sight.

Her back to Laurel.

"…that you're the only thing, the only one, that could truly break her."

That last part was barely above a whisper so only Helena heard.

Leaving a very confused Laurel in the ally.

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

Laurel waited, it felt like years, but according to reality and her phone, it was only three minutes since Helena left.

'She wouldn't blow me off would she?'

'Then again, she'd just be another member of the Stay Away from Laurel club. Other members consisting of, her mom, her dad, Tommy, Oliver, and… Sara.'

'Sara.' Laurel wondered what Sara would do in her position, though she didn't know why she was even thinking about that scenario.

'Sara's dead.' She reminded herself.

"Hi, Laurel," another voice said. That voice.

Laurel looked up and found herself staring into a familiar set of fearful, deep blue eyes.

* * *

 **[1] I used to do some karate a long time ago, so I used some of that knowledge and some Youtube videos to write that scene.**

 **[2] That story will be revealed later, much later. But let's just say Sara knew someone else in the DC universe before they became their costumed namesake… who might be showing up later… No, it's not Nyssa or anyone from the League, Sara's not really looking at her League days very fondly right now, so she's not including any people she met during her League time in that count.**

* * *

 **Seriously loving Legends right now, despite the plot holes in the past few episodes. I think Merlyn lied about Sara's bloodlust being cured, he does lie a lot, so that's excusable, but I have to be blunt here: The Legends were idiots. I have no idea why they didn't grab Vandal's body, wait for him to heal and then have Kendra kill him in his weakened state. Arrow's episode, it's like we're back to season 2 quality! However, with Flash I'm hoping they address Barry feeling left out soon, 'cause seriously it's pretty sad when they say stuff like "I'm so happy to have my first son!" (Joe** _ **to**_ **Barry) or "I'm happy to finally have a brother!" (Iris** _ **in front**_ **of Barry)…ouch. Also, another cliffhanger! Don't hurt me?**

 **Thanks for reading and please review!**

 **2/7/16**


	8. 1-8 Fledglings: Family Reunion

**Thanks to my friend who edits!**

 **I own nothing!**

* * *

 **Fledglings: Family Reunion**

* * *

"…uh, hi?" Laurel sputtered.

Silence filled the air; thoughts ran wild.

Laurel's turbulent mind could be summed up to: 'Ug… this is not the plan… Focus, Lance, focus…'

'Maybe I should have let Felicity finish that voice disguiser… Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!'

Laurel recovered first, she noticed while she was screaming at herself within her head; she moved closer to the other woman. The other woman ducked her head when Laurel got _too_ close.

"You wanted to meet?" the other woman asked.

'Was that what I wanted?'

Laurel, being Laurel, wrote all of her questions down in advance, she had the whole conversation scripted out. But now, now all of those words, all of the hours left her mind. Now she was just a sputtering mess who couldn't get beyond "hi".

"Who are you?!" Laurel found herself screaming.

…ok, so it was the direct approach…

It's not like Laurel's unfamiliar, after all, that's how a lawyer would question a witness. That's how Laurel questioned a witness. That's how she planed to question this woman.

But.

She was screaming for some reason.

And other woman…

…she looked, scared…

Examining the blonde woman, Laurel noticed a few things she never had before.

Her blonde hair was straw like, almost bleach white, and certainly fake.

A wig.

She didn't hear the woman come, no sound of footsteps, no sound of her landing from a rooftop.

Like a ghost.

The fearful blue eyes were locked onto the ground.

She didn't want to be seen.

Her arms held no weapon.

Instead they were wrapped around herself.

She was guarding herself.

That instinct to wrap yourself within your arms…

…familiar.

She was inching away from Laurel a little.

She was scared.

That much Laurel gathered before.

But, now, she knew.

She knew why.

She was scared of Laurel Lance.

Why?

Even with the get up, Laurel wouldn't peg her as a vigilante.

No, she was…

Human.

Like Laurel.

They were the same.

The other woman seemed so small now.

"Hey, I'm not going to bite. Can you just tell me your name?"

Silence.

The woman's face was blank, but Laurel saw an internal battle behind those eyes.

"Or at least something I can call you? That would make talking to you a little easier."

"…Canary. Just, Canary, please."

Canary?

"Nice to meet you, Canary."

Laurel swore she saw a phantom smile, for a second.

Just one second.

But Laurel knew it was there for a simple reason: Canary let her arms fall by her side.

Laurel was going to continue on with her conversation but then she noticed a change is the Canary's eyes.

They were cold, but the fear was gone, and the attention was elsewhere.

Following her gaze, Laurel saw a scene across the streets: two men were loading unconscious children into the back of a van.

"Liz? We have a code 6 right across the street," Canary talked to, what Laurel guessed was some sort of com device.

Laurel couldn't here the other person talking on the com, but she guessed it was Helena.

"I'm in company right now… Ok, you'll get a codename later."

Canary ran after the van, Laurel followed.

Somehow the bird knew exactly where to find the van, even though it was long out of sight now. Laurel guessed whomever Canary was talking to was responsible for that.

They stopped at an old warehouse around the docks

"If we didn't have so many warehouses I think our crime rate would drop a full 50% percent," Laurel noted.

"You really shouldn't have come." Canary flatly answered.

"I can help," Laurel replied.

"Yes, she came… No, it wasn't my idea!" Clearly her friend didn't like the fact she followed.

"Wait, Huntress, slow down… oh." **[1]**

There were three of them?

Wait, no, that Sin kid made four.

A small object was tossed at Laurel.

Opening her hands Laurel saw they were several ammunition clips, "Since my friend stole yours… I hear guns work better with bullets."

Well, at least she had a sense of humor, unlike the last vigilante Laurel used to work with…

"Only, use it for self defense and you are staying with me. If we can help it we won't be seen," Canary's voice was calm, but Laurel could hear the concern anyways.

Laurel asked, "How many of you are there?"

"As of now, four."

Another question, "And they all dress up like-"

"-Only Huntress and me, the other two have their own skills."

Sneaking around to a window, Canary pulled out a knife.

"So, is one of those skills sassing you?"

Canary deadpanned, "Oh, that's a requirement, apparently."

The knife was used to unlock the window; they both climbed into the dimly lit building.

"Sounds annoying."

In a wistful tone, she answered, "It's kind of like… like sisters bantering."

"That can be annoying."

Canary rolled her eyes, "You should meet my sister."

Sister?

As stupid as it sounded, Laurel never thought the Hood or Canary had family.

Her father's words echoed in her head:

" _I'm not looking for this new vigilante. I don't want to know who she is, because then she has a family, she has a life, and then I have to worry."_

But for some reason, Laurel could already tell he was worried.

"What's she like?" Laurel asked as they snuck around in the shadows.

"She's strong, but really stubborn. I mean, she's always trying to save the world, and a lot of times, a lot of times she hurts herself that way. Right now, she's probably helping a complete stranger while putting her own life in jeopardy, but that thought never crosses her mind. Not once."

"Does that worry you?" Laurel asked.

"Yes."

They hid in a corner as some men walked by them, oblivious of their presents.

"Why don't you tell her?"

A small sigh, "Because I don't have the right to."

"What makes you say that?"

"I'm not who she remembers and before I left I messed up, big time."

Laurel put her hand on Canary's shoulder she meant to comfort her but it only seemed to make the bird tense.

"I'm sure your sister loves you, she always will. Maybe she'll be mad but she'll forgive you over time."

Laurel wondered if that was really true. She wondered what she'd do if Sara came back after all of these years.

'Sara's dead.'

Why did she always have to remind herself that when she was thinking about or with Canary?

"Though, to be honest, I'm not sure what I do if my sister came back all of the sudden…"

For some reason the bird wouldn't look at her when she spoke, "What's… what's your sister like?"

"The polar opposite of me. I mean she was social troublemaker. Sometimes she was just a reckless idiot, I mean there was this one ski trip she crashed into a tree… I wonder if there was any brain damage…"

Canary continued not to make eye contact.

"Should I stop talking if I'm distracting you from surveying the area?"

"No, you don't have to."

That tone…

Was that…

Was that pain in her voice?

"But despite all of the stupid stunts she's pulled…

…I still love her."

Blue eyes were wide as saucers.

"I don't know how, but she was always so optimistic, stupidly so sometimes, but still… There was just some child-like innocence to her. She had this light that could attract everyone. It was amazing to see how the world couldn't break her."

Laurel's tone went ice cold, "Until that stupid boat."

Canary rose and simply motioned for Laurel to follow.

She didn't speak.

Her eyes hidden by her wig's bangs.

Laurel followed her throughout the building.

They would stop every now and then in a corner to hide from the guards, but unlike the first time, they didn't speak. Or more accurately Canary didn't speak.

Laurel kept trying to make conversation, but the other woman didn't respond.

Every now and then she would just nod her head; that was the only sign for Laurel that the woman was listening at all.

\- BIRDS OR PREY -

This was a stupid idea, even for her.

Helena followed the bird.

She knew family matters should stay in the family, so why? Why was she following them?

As if she were reading her thoughts Felicity rang over the com, "I think it's because you actually care."

"I don't know…"

"You called Sara your friend."

"Wait, you heard that?"

"Nope, you just told me."

"Ok, now is when I say touché."

"Wow, you're making real progress."

Helena rolled her eyes, "But not enough not to come back to the tower to shut you up."

"But you won't, you're too worried about Sara," Felicity said in a sing-song voice, "Huntress has a heart! Huntress has a heart!"

"Don't make me throw this com away…" Helena muttered.

"Wait, don't those things cost a lot!" Felicity scrambled over the line.

Helena rolled her eyes and smirked.

She watched as the two Lances entered the building. Waiting up on the building next door. Great… now she was perching like Birdy…

Only a few minutes passed, "Hey, Princess, how's it going in there?"

"Don't know, I think she switched her com off after I gave her directions."

Helena wanted to facepalm, "She what?!"

"I said…"

"…I know what you said. Is she stupid?"

Flatly they both answered the question, "It's unknown…"

"Can you…"

"Already on it!" Felicity answered.

Helena and Felicity could hear Sara and Laurel talking.

"By the way, they can't hear us."

"Until that stupid boat," Laurel coldly stated.

For the next few minutes they could only hear Laurel talking, and that got quieter too.

"Felicity," Helena only said her name, but Felicity got the full message.

"Patching you through."

"Hey Lance!" She screamed throw the com.

"Focus, you want to sulk? That's fine, but later. Right now you have kids to save, your sister to look out for, and yourself! I will kill you if you die! You got that?!"

"Ok," Sara quietly answered.

Helena responded, "Can't hear you."

"Thanks," Sara said.

"Yah, yah, just focus on surviving your family reunion."

For a while all Helena and Felicity could hear was some occasional chatter every now and then, they mostly tuned it out, since it wasn't there place to hear this.

But around the five-minute mark, a gunshot was heard, and one Lance screamed.

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

Sara rose up from their current corner, "Laurel, they're up ahead."

Her voice wasn't shaky like she thought it'd be, but it wasn't completely calm and composed like it normally was under these circumstances.

Luckily, Laurel didn't notice.

They had no guards.

In fact, it was pretty empty.

Except for a couple of kids behind a wall of bars.

"What are we going to-" Laurel asked.

But at that point, Sara had picked the lock.

"Call your dad to pick them up."

Laurel dialed, she alerted the police.

After hanging up, a thought occurred to her, "Wait, how did you know my dad was a police officer?"

There was no response as Sara's eyes were locked on a strange logo by the cage.

She saw a flash of a similar logo, a similar cage, and a couple of needles.

"Hey!" Laurel's voice snapped Sara back into reality.

"Sorry, what?"

Laurel eyed the symbol, "Do you know what this is?"

"No, it just looks familiar… maybe I've seen if before?"

"Maybe."

"I better go," Sara said.

"Wait, answer me this at least. How did you know my dad was a cop?" Laurel asked.

No answer.

"Ok, then. I-"

Laurel didn't finish as Sara pushed her to the ground.

A gun shot.

Pain.

A familiar pain shot through Sara.

A bullet.

Laurel screamed.

The guy who shot her fell to the ground.

Sara saw to blurry figures over her.

Purple.

Angry.

Shouting.

Helena.

Concerned.

Confused.

Dazed.

Laurel.

She could vaguely hear someone shouting over the com.

Then only darkness.

* * *

 **[1] If anyone was wondering what Felicity and Helena were telling Sara… Felicity can be summed up as: Liz is a terrible nickname and I should get my own codename! Helena can be summed up as: you *** moron... oh, by the way I took her ammo.**

* * *

Reviews:

Dell03: I like the Lance sister bond, I really can't stand it when the whole love drama messes it up. I generally am ok with Laurel except for the whole season 2 issue. It's honestly sad the writers tend to pit the sister against each other. Thanks, hope you liked this update too!

Naitch03: I went with heroin for a couple of reasons; for starters it's cannon (Waller mentions it during a season 3 flashback). Also Thea is a combination of the Mia Dearden Speedy and the Roy Harper character, specifically his heroin addiction, so it's also cannon in the comics.

Guest: Thanks!

Alex: Thank you, I really hoped I did justice with the Sin and Sara bond, so thanks for easing my mind on that subject.

Guest: Thank you!

highlander348: Well… Felicity will have to get in line… The matter of who knows whose identity will be clarified next chapter, I didn't really clarify it then or now because those weren't the points of those chapters.

Guest: Thank you very much!

Guest: Thanks.

MoonlightCove: I think Sara's problem was solved in one episode, for two reasons. 1) the writers are aware the viewers would see it as repetitive. 2) (AKA the in-universe explanation) Whatever Constantine did lessened Sara's symptoms so she could fight it off, Thea has to deal with the normal symptoms so she can't (kind of like how one person gets medicine for a cold vs. a person who has to deal with their cold by themself). But seriously it is confusing…

* * *

 **Oh, Ray, Ray, Ray… seriously you revealed Oliver's secret identity to two criminals… I might start using the Reddit idea of keeping a Palmer F*** up counter soon… Killer Frost is awesome, that is all (thankfully she's coming back so I'm guessing she's alive) though I loved Cisco calling her Elsa… I made Caitlin sing Let it Go in Resurrection for (a) reason(s). Vixen… this should be interesting… Ok, so another cliffhanger… don't kill me?**

 **Thanks for reading and please review!**

 **2/21/16**


	9. 1-9 Fledglings: Home

**Thanks to my editing friend!**

 **I own nothing!**

* * *

 **Fledglings: Home**

* * *

Blue eyes snapped open. Vision was blurry, but the nearby figure slowly resembled a familiar face, Sin's. Sara noticed she lay on the Tower's couch; Sin was sitting in an unfoldable chair, head resting on the free couch area around Sara's chest. Pain shot through her when she tried to sit up. Normally she would just ignore then pain, but she was too tired to fight a small yelp of pain.

Sin didn't stir and Sara smiled at the serene look on the young girl's face.

"She was up all night waiting for you," a voice behind her said.

The speaker moved in front of Sara revealing herself to be Laurel Lance.

Sara instinctively touched her face to see if she was still wearing her mask.

She wasn't.

"Laurel, I'm sure you have a billion of questions…" Sara started.

"I don't."

"How could you not have…"

"Ok, fine I do… but later."

Sara eyed the bandage on her sister's arm, "What happened?"

Laurel unconsciously fingered the bandage while responding; "You lost a lot of blood after you were shot. Enough it was either a blood transfusion here or the hospital… so obviously you got the blood transfusion. Turns out you're O negative... and so am I, apparently."

Peering down her own arm, Sara found a matching bandage on her left arm, "Oh."

"That was the kicker for me. You should have seen your partners trying to make up a logical explanation for everything. That Felicity girl, she when on and on about the statistics of O negative blood and Helena was just banging her head against the wall… I'm serious, she actually did that."

Hesitantly Sara asked, "You're not mad?"

"Right now, I'm more worried about the fact my little sister came back from the dead and then took a bullet for me… and beats up criminals in a leather suit… I swear this family isn't normal and… and… wait a second… You knocked me out!"

Sheepishly Sara smiled, "In my defense I thought someone was breaking into our base… which, technically was true…"

"I had a headache for a whole day!"

"Just a day? I think I'm loosing my touch…" Sara joked.

Laurel rolled her eyes, "Same old Sara…"

The smile on Sara's face faded, "Laurel-"

But Sin's yawning ended that trail of thought, "You people are too loud…" she mumbled as her eyes lazily opened.

"Morning sleepy-head," Sara said.

"You're awake!" Sin exclaimed.

"Yah, somehow I was shot and I still managed to wake up before you."

Sin mumbled, "No comment…"

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

"So let me get this straight… MY BROTHER WAS THE HOOD?" Thea exclaimed.

Felicity nodded, not trusting her mouth to do what it was designed to do: run wild into embarrassing innuendos or strait into her foot. Helena who was also sitting on the couch seemed amused by this whole ordeal and Sin was scribbling some things down on a pad of paper, probably adding everything up.

"Question: who else knew?"

Helena asked, "Do we include the dead?"

Thea flatly answered, "No."

Counting off with her fingers Felicity noted, "Well, I knew, Diggle knew, Helena, you, and somehow Canary knew…"

"Wait, does Laurel know now? Because I didn't! It's like Tony Stark… well, no high tech suit but… rich? Check. Dead dad? Check. Playboy? Super check." Sin said.

Helena remembered the time in the alley, "You know, it was really unclear…"

As if on cue, Felicity's phone buzzed, "By the way Laurel knows Ollie's identity."

"How did she…" Helena started, but then Felicity's phone buzzed with the answer: "trained by the League remember?"

Sin shrugged, "I don't think that justifies it…"

"I knew she was a mind reader!" Felicity exclaimed.

Again the phone buzzed, "Actually, Helena butt dialed me…"

Helena checked her own phone and facepalmed, "I hate this phone…" and simply hung up.

Sara texted again, "Rude…"

"Wait, how did Sara know about Oliver's identity?" Helena asked, pondering if she hung up a second too soon.

Felicity and Sin hung their heads while Thea screamed, "Wait, Canary is Sara Lance?"

"Don't you understand the first rule of secret identities?! Or the definition of secret identities? Or just _secret?_ " Felicity screamed.

Helena smirked, "I think it's fair, she outted mine with you earlier… also I thought you said the masks cover nothing and so we have no secret identities?"

"That's not the point…"

"So Sara and my brother survived the Gambit, and became ninjas?"

"Well, actually I don't think The Hood was that stealthy…" Sin noted.

"Not that I'm not kind of grateful that my friend and brother are alive, but does death have no meaning?"

Sin shrugged, "Comic book dead isn't the same as dead, dead… in fact I wouldn't be surprised if we lived in some comic book medium; one of them would have actually died and then was resurrected."

Everyone stared at Sin like she was crazy… meanwhile the White Canary of an alternative universe sneezed. **[1]**

"No body = alive."

"…but what if-"

"Alive."

"Shit… I might have to go check a river later…" Helena mumbled.

Everyone stared, "Just joking."

"Why am I the last to know?" Thea asked.

"Technically, you learned Oliver's identity a few seconds before Laurel did," Helena pointed out.

Thea flatly stated, probably in a joking manner, "I hate you all."

To which Helena happily exclaimed, "I like her!"

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

Several hours later, Helena grew bored of the constant chatter. Helena herself was never a woman who favored talking, she was much more physical in many aspects. She simply disappeared on them in the middle of conversation… the little bird was rubbing off on her a littler she supposed. She made a beeline to the Clock Tower for some alone time, figuring Sara would still be catching up with her sister.

As Helena walked up the stairs, she heard a slight amount of movement, as if someone we rummaging through their belongings.

Sighing, Helena pulled out and loaded her crossbow, 'just a warning shot,' she reminded herself.

The arrow was fired.

It never hit anyone, instead in was caught with ease.

Helena stared at the sight of Sara gripping the Huntress's arrow.

"Maybe we need a passcode?" Sara asked, a little annoyed with the number of times Helena has almost hit her in the head with an arrow.

"I thought you would be with your sister."

"Well, you're not the only one."

Helena asked, "Did lunch not go as planned?"

"Not at all."

Anger subtly flashed in Helena's eyes, "I'll go talk to her."

Sara's hand on Helena's shoulder stopped the Huntress, "Don't."

"But Sara, she can't still be mad at you for-"

"-she wasn't, and that's what bothers me."

"Wait, what?"

Sara stopped moving her clothing into her duffle bag, "Lunch was great, it was peaceful, happy, and everything! The problem was me, Helena."

Helena didn't speak and instead just listened.

"Laurel wasn't mad. She wasn't mad I left, that a screwed her boyfriend, she wasn't mad I just magically showed up with no explanation! She didn't care about Oliver, she said she didn't blame me for making the same mistake she made, by being attracted to him. She said I was young and made a foolish mistake. She said I didn't control any of the events I after the Gambit. She was happy! She was just happy I came back to her…" **[2]**

For the first time, Helena saw tears in Sara's eyes.

"I think it's worse than her yelling at me, the fact she forgives me just like that after everything…"

Sara shrank down, "She even offered me to move in with her and…"

A sharp sting landed on Sara's face.

Looking up Sara saw Helena's hand extended towards her.

Helena had slapped her.

"Shut. Up. I thought you were a lot of things Lance. I thought you were stupid. I thought many times you were a fool. But, I never thought you were a coward."

Placing her hand on where it stung Sara just watched in shock.

"Can you honestly tell me you want Laurel to hate you? No, that's not you, Lance. You once told me you chose to call yourself Canary, you never told me why. But I know. You chose to be called Canary because it reminded you of who you are. It reminded you of you family, your home."

Sara felt her throat tighten a bit.

"You're not upset she forgave you. You're happy because that means she still loves you. No, you're upset because now you don't have an excuse to leave, before they learn you're not the girl they remember, aren't you?"

Sara silence was the only answer Helena needed.

"You're afraid if they learn who you really are, you'll lose them forever."

Sara responded in a dead tone, "Who I really am is a monster."

"I never thought you were. Felicity doesn't think you are. And Sin certainly doesn't, have you seen that girl, she holds you in the highest pedestal possible! You're her hero."

"Sin doesn't know, she doesn't know I'm a killer, neither does Laurel, Felicity, my dad, or my mom."

"I know you're a killer, but I still don't see you as a monster, Lance."

"Fine, let's say I'm not a monster; I'm still going to kill them in the end. If I stay, the League will find me and they will be caught in the crossfire."

Helena coldly stated, "You told me Felicity could hide you for a few more months."

"I'm not going to gamble on my family's lives."

"So you're ok with gambling with ours?"

Sara shook her head, "I didn't mean it like that."

"Then what did you mean?"

"No one can connect Felicity to us, Sin can just fall into the background of the city, and you could have come with me. But Laurel and my dad will never let me leave if I need to."

A smirk formed on Helena's face, "That's a pretty weak excuse."

"Why do you say that?"

"I'm just saying the League knows who you are, right?"

"Yes."

"So you're family is already a target. If you leave now, no one will protect them and then you'll lose them. Also if you leave, if Laurel isn't angry about your last disappearance, she'll be angry about this one. Since, this time, it will be your choice to leave them, not a stupid boat. If you stay here, you run the risk of losing them yes, but at least then you can still protect them from the League. You might lose them either way, but if you stay, they'll have someone fighting for them, won't they?"

Sara didn't answer and instead slung her duffle over her shoulder heading for the stairs.

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

Sara wondered around aimlessly in the city for what was probably hours. The first time she roamed the streets in six years, and everything was foreign. Maybe it was because half of the city was under construction, but that's just spit-balling… No, upon closer inspection, Starling was still and always Starling City, at least on the inside where it truly counted.

The people didn't change. Look at Laurel, she was still trying to save the world. Thea was still chasing after her brother. Moira was still a mom who would do anything for her children. Her dad was still an honest cop who would probably die with a badge on his chest.

The streets were the same. Gail Street. Simone Drive. Then Dixon Lane. All the same streets she'd walk from school to home, every day, they were still here. **[3]**

A saying continued to play itself in Sara's mind, "You can't go home again." Why was that? Well, that meant two possibilities: either your home changed or you changed by time you returned. So by process of elimination, it was Sara who couldn't return to Starling. Starling was the same after all.

If most people compared her from before and after of the Gambit, they would assume Sara became stronger to survive. No, the exact opposite happened. The League did not make her strong; they just made her a killer. True strength was the ability to put faith in other people instead of answering to fear and killing.

Sara Lance was weak.

She answered to fear.

On the AMAZO with Ivo.

The Island with Slade.

Everyday in the League with Ra's.

Even now she only reacted with fear.

What did Sin see in her?

How could she see a hero when she is only a monster?

Why did Helena or Felicity put so much faith in her when she was a killer?

Why was Laurel happy to see her when she was irredeemable?

What did she do to deserve them?

Sara just let the word "why" repeat in her head for most of her walk.

Until she finally had her answer:

She didn't.

She deserved none of it.

Not the kindness.

Not the faith.

Not the forgiveness.

Nothing.

Sara stood in front of an unfamiliar wooden door.

Holding up her hand she hesitated before finally knocking.

The door opened, the smell of hot chocolate greeting her.

"Hey, sis."

But maybe, the fact she didn't deserve any of it was all the more reason to stay and protect them. Laurel, Quentin, and Sin were her family. Helena and Felicity were her friends. Sara Lance would stay for them and only them.

She was home.

* * *

 **Reviews:**

Dell03: Thanks and I hoped you enjoyed this chapter too!

WinterRain36: Huh, look at that the begging worked… (just kidding it was a coincidence). But thanks for the review!

kindleflame5: Now you know! Aren't you happy this chapter wasn't a cliffhanger… though it physically pained me to do so… (joking) and thanks!

MoonlightCove: The coolest thing for me about the episode is it stared one of my favorite characters, it was one of the best Arrow episodes in several seasons (well… maybe there's a few exceptions…), and the love triangle was taking pot-shots at all of the really bad Arrow and Flash love triangles… all on my Birthday, which is great since it all happened by coincidence! But yes that jacket is very badass… maybe Sara will go White Canary in this story later just because of that awesome jacket… hm… I'll see how that request can be fit in, I have the general plot of this story planned (yes I have all *** chapters planned in advance), but so far nothing has gone 100% to plan so who knows! In fact this and last chapter had the most deviations from the original plans. These characters have minds of their owns that dictate this story… But I'll give you this: Goth! Felicity is to return later, in some fashion.

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 **[1] Ok, the sneezing thing is based off a Chinese superstition my grandma (she's Chinese) told me: when people talk about you behind your back you sneeze, unless it's a cold or something like that. So the idea here is the Sara Lance in the TV show is reacting to this AU's comments under this superstition.**

 **[2] Laurel's reaction to Sara's return to the living is very different compared to the shows for several reasons:** **1) Laurel is not an alcoholic and a drug user so she's much more rational** **2) Sara just saved her life** **3) This is not out of left field, this very explanation came from the pilot episode of Arrow** **4) It's not over yet**

 **[3] The street names are based off of Gail Simone, who's known as the best Birds of Prey comic book writer, and Chuck Dixon, one of the Bird's of Prey's creators.**

* * *

 **Ok, a lot to cover so I try to keep this brief. I know this chapter is a little shorter than usual, that happened for several reasons: I was really pressed for time the last two weeks, I didn't add more to any scenes so they wouldn't drag, and I didn't add more scenes because that's for future storylines later. Laurel and Sara's reunion was glossed over because their reunion in going to be more focused on in the next storyline. Also if anyone is still upset over the slight shortness of this chapter, then the next update's surprise hopefully will appease you… (heh… even though I didn't write a cliff hanger in the actual story… I still sort of leave one in the author's notes…)**

 **Thanks for reading and please review!**

 **3/6/16**


	10. Flashback 01: Fate

**Thanks to my editing friend!**

 **I own nothing!**

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 **Flashback 01: Fate**

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I was never a strong believer in fate. I mean I believed in it a little; after all I always knew it was my destiny to inherit the title of Ra's. However, I never believed that events would happen outside of a person's control that could completely change their destiny… but then I met her.

It was just by chance Athnan was sick, that I took his assignment, strayed off the trial, and was drawn to the water, where I discovered her.

All of these unlikely moments all happened in the right order for us to meet, for that I'd call it fate.

I find myself visiting the Med Bay at least once a day. There were a few days I'd visit two, or maybe even three times. Needless to say, members of the League were whispering. I don't blame them. It's not like this isn't the first time I've ordered members to take a dying person back to the League; after all it did help the League gain many loyal members. But there was one key difference: I, Nyssa al-Ghul, daughter of Ra's al-Ghul, Heir to the Demon, was checking on the woman myself, not sending a scout to report back to me.

It's a common enough occurrence that one of the healers, Tabib, knows who I come for without even asking. Instead he just says tells me the woman is doing fine, or she's doing better and points to her bed. There's even a chair by the bed specifically for me.

Currently, I would say that was good foresight on his part as I haven't left this chair the entire morning. I don't know why, but for some reason I feel like I should stay here for today… it's as if I know something will change. Luckily, today is one of the rare days I have minimal plans, as most of my sparing partners are on missions, I'm not on a mission, and as the Heir, I don't have anyone to instruct.

The woman in the bed is peaceful. Sometimes I watch as she struggles in her sleep. I wonder what she dreams of. Occasionally I hear her mumble some names in her sleep. Laurel is a common one, most of the time it's said in a pleading and desperate voice. Dad and mom are also said in a slightly fearful voice. The names Anthony and Slade are whispered in utter terror. Oliver is sometimes said with concern, but sometimes with an underlying coldness.

Whatever plagues her sleep, I believe it's what keeps her in the lands of dreams, as if she needs to sort things out before she can return to this realm. Although, there's the physical exhaustion to factor in too… When I first found her, her pale skin was blue from the ocean's water, soaked to the bone but dehydrated. She had bits of shrapnel caught in her, probably from the ship that exploded. Her blue eyes were glazed over as she probably was staring at death's door.

She's been here for about a week.

Not knowing her name and finding it a little annoying to refer to her only in pronouns, I often tried thinking of possible names I could call her. But for the most part, I keep thinking of words in Arabic that probably have no meaning for her. I gave up for a little while and instead I tried making conversation. Honestly, the idea of a one sided conversation didn't make much sense, but Tabib told me on rare occasions people in comas do register sounds of the outside world.

At first I just told her of the book I was reading. But for the most part, I found myself asking her why she was on that boat, what those names meant to her, and what her name was. I mainly asked about her world, because father wouldn't be happy if I shared too much of mine with an unknown variable. To no surprise, I never did get any answers while she was in that state.

Reading my book out loud was a growing frustration. There was no problem with the book itself, but for some reason my eyes wouldn't focus on the pages, instead they were drawn to her. I noted the color in her cheeks had returned which I took that as a good sign. Her golden hair reminded me of a canary. Everything about her seemed to captivate me as the concept of time eluded me when I was around her.

"Miss Nyssa…" A quiet voice said beside me.

There is a cup of tea offered to me and accept it with a soft thank you. I take a few sips before asking, "Sila, how is she?" Since Tabib was busy this morning, asking the healer's apprentice was the next best thing.

"Tabib says she'll probably wake up in another week or so, but personally I think she'll be up a lot sooner…"

Since the tea has cooled I take a bigger sip before asking, "What makes you say that?"

In a simple smile she answers, "I can just tell she's a fighter."

"No offense, but I think I'll go with the actual doctor's assessment."

However, the sight of fearful blue eyes proves Tabib and me wrong, "Go get Tabib," I say.

Smiling, Sila leaves after asking, "So does that mean I'm an actual doctor now?"

[]

Blurry vision did not hide a frightening truth. I could tell I was staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. Which meant I was probably with strangers. I heard one tell another to leave. Best case scenario the doctor's coming, worst case a boss like Ivo is coming, even worst case scenario it's a combination. If the AMAZO taught me one thing it was to never take chances.

Quickly glancing to my left I noticed a small tray on a near by table. I grabbed the nearest scalpel I could and held it up at my eye level, the blade pointed to the woman in the chair.

Hair dark as the night was pulled into a low ponytail, I noted how that made her come off as practical above all else. Skin was lightly tanned, must go out in the sun a bit, probably athletic… Her dark eyes were focused on me; unlike when most people stared I didn't feel threatened or self-conscious. Her face was impassive and hard to read, but she didn't seem like an enemy, but then again neither did Anthony at first. I realized I was staring back; it was only when I clenched my fist out of nervousness I remembered the knife was pointed at her.

"Who are you? Where am I?" I sputter.

She didn't seem bothered by the fact I had a knife, in fact she seemed a little amused. Other than amusement there was no signs she even acknowledged the blade's presents, instead she just sits down and pulls out a book. A page turns before she speaks, "You're in the Med Bay, also I am Nyssa…"

It felt like she had something more to say then just Nyssa, but trailed off for some reason. I tried not to be distracted by that accent and replied, "I can see I'm in the Med Bay… I mean where is the Med Bay?"

"Nanda Parbat."

Great, and now is the time I regret not paying attention to geography in school…

As if reading my mind, she answered, "Along the China Seas."

Ok, so I'm not that far from Lian Yu.

Two others walked in. At this point in time a fight with three to one odds were bad, especially one considering my condition. Instead of opting to fight I quickly slipped the knife under the mattress before they noticed.

One seemed to be a man in his mid fifties to sixties, probably African American. His hair was slightly grey, but that was the only indication of his age. For a man in his fifties, maybe sixties, he was very in shape and at least six feet tall. I presumed he was the doctor since he was checking all of my vitals.

His massive height only made it more apparent that the girl who followed him barely made it to his shoulders. Based off her height and face I'd peg her for a teenager at best, maybe even a pre-teen if one really factored in her height. Chestnut hair was tied into two low pigtails that barely reached past her shoulders. Her grey eyes seemed to reflect light, making them much brighter than they should be. But what caught my attention was she was smiling. It was just a simple smile, but it reminded me it's been a long time since I've seen anyone smile, including myself.

I was about to ask Nyssa who they where, but the woman in the chair had disappeared.

The man also left after taking some vitals and pulling out some AV tubes. However, the kid stayed her back turned to me as she placed a small bag onto the chair Nyssa sat in earlier.

I figured this was my best chance. Grabbing the knife from earlier, I held it up against her neck. She turned to face me, the smile still ever present. What was with these people? Didn't they understand the dangers of a knife? Did this kid not get I could slit her throat in seconds?

"Oh, so I was right!"

She didn't even flinch when I pushed the knife a little closer to her neck, but maybe it was because there was still an inch or two between the blade and her flesh. If anything she seemed somewhat happy? Is this kid a psycho?

"You are a fighter!"

Yup, probably a psycho…

"So you'll probably survive."

The word "probably" followed immediately by "survive" was never a good combination… But I think the chill down my spine doubled because one, a kid informed me, and two, she did it without dropping the smile …something's seriously not right with this girl…

I felt something nudge my chin, looking down I saw her finger pointing up as if she were wielding a blade of her own. In my panic my grip loosened and she snatched the knife from me. The smile widened, "Sorry, but you'll hurt yourself with this more than me, that or you'll pull out your remaining AV's, or both. Also, the knife isn't necessary, I'm allowed to answer your questions."

"Allowed," that meant there was defiantly a boss in charge here and if I had to guess I'd probably meet him or her soon. Best to start there then, "Who's in charge?"

"The Demon's Head."

The fact this girl says anything; be it happy, sad, or terrifying with that nonchalant smile is really starting to bug me.

"That's his name in your language, but here he'd be referred to as Ra's al-Ghul."

I'm guessing it was Arabic, but since I failed my world language for all I know it could be French…

"Oh, I'm Sila, if you don't mind I'd like your name please."

For a moment I debate if I should lie just in case this place is like the AMAZO but in the end I tell her Sara Lance, just in case it will help me get home. Since we're on the topic of names, "Who was that?"

"Tabib? He's the doctor… actually his name is doctor here. He's aptly named might I add."

I was going to comment that I was asking about Nyssa but then I flinched when she pulled something out of her bag, part of me worried it was a weapon. Jeez, Lance, she'd just a kid; there's no way she'll handle a weapon… she's more likely to poison you… oh, wait, spoke too soon… she has a vials… oh great… more colorful vials… I'm _so_ dead. …and this is where I should start berating myself for being so paranoid… as she mixes some together, yup, she's not helping…

A cup is held out for me, I stare at it cautiously not daring to take it, just in case it is actually poisoned. She seems to notice and pulls out another cup, pours a small amount into that cup and drinks from it, "It's just herbs, it won't hurt you."

Sighing in defeat, I take the cup and drink it, it's a little bitter, but considering it's the first thing I've eaten/drank in who knows how long… "Oh, but then again since I had a smaller amount it's much more lethal for you… or maybe I built up my immunity…"

I feel sick for a few seconds before she laughs, "Sorry, I do that to everyone who comes here… It's fun!"

It's official: Sila is a psychopath…

[]

Based off the liquid meals, apparently my stomach isn't strong enough to handle much solid food as of now, I've been in this Med Bay for three days. Most of the time Tabib comes, runs his tests, gives me simple instructions, and promptly leaves. He's definitely the type who only keeps a very professional relationship with his patents. Sila is the one who visits me the most often, which is fine since once you get used to the constant smile, she's actually ok. At least she answers my questions; it's a lot more than I can say for anyone else.

The only other visitor I've had is Nyssa. But unlike the other two she doesn't come in, she just watches from outside the door for a little while. Honestly you'd think it would be creepy, but her stares never felt unnerving, maybe it was because I started the staring contest before? Anyways I never really made much of it until today.

All it took was a simple plate of actual food to break the pattern. What I mean by actual food is it was solid and not another meal I had to drink. Nyssa came in towards the end of the day, I'm guessing it's dinnertime, but it's hard to tell since dinner is either really early or really late here. Based off the moon in the sky, I'd say it's very late tonight.

"I thought drinking your meals would be a bit, tiresome."

Is it strange to say that that accent of hers can make anything sound poetic? No matter how mundane?

Oh, right, back to reality…

"Thanks," I say.

There's a silence, it's not an uneasy one though, it's kind of peaceful. Though I will admit I wasn't entirely sure what I was supposed to say to this woman, after all she just graduated from doorsill stalker to a regular person having a conversation. Not wanting the food to get cold and to fill the silence I dug in… which was a mistake. I held back the urge to gag, no offense to Nyssa, but it's clear she's never cooked before… then again I'm not much better.

If anyone wants the honest opinion: good cooking is a recessive gene in the Lance family and I only got so lucky with the blonde hair and blue eyes. On the bright side, I wasn't as bad as Laurel, she could only do hot chocolate and mac and cheese. In my case, I had to practice something for a while but after that it was at least editable… this came from mom… Dad however was pretty stealer on his select dishes, other wise he was in the same boat as I was.

But despite all the years of conditioning from Lance family cooking, this stew was still a challenge.

"Do you like it?" Nyssa asks, she sounds a little anxious and the look in her eyes makes it hard to say anything but, "Oh, it's good, really it's unique. I've never tasted anything like it!"

So I dug my own taste bud's graves and continued eating, albeit, a little slower than usual, but she didn't have to know that.

[]

Father asked me to meet him in the main room. I make sure I'm punctual, ridiculously punctual, because I can guess what this summons is about, meaning he's in a rather foul mood. I kneel in front of him as he speaks in his calm, but weary voice, "What is the status of the woman?"

Straight to the point, he might be a poetic man at times, but today he's direct, clearly his patients is a little thin today. So I don't beat around the bush either with my reply, "She's well, not exactly in perfect recovery, but it has only been a week. According to Tabib she should be fully recovered in another week or two."

Despite my intentions I don't think he and I were on the same page, "You know that's not what I meant."

"Father?" I ask, not sure of what he's expecting, but I have a guess.

"You know the policy Nyssa, we don't take prisoners."

My eyes focused on the ground before me, not daring to look my father in the eyes as I speak, "She is not a prisoner." Technically she was a rescued soul from collateral damage. Father may not have prisoners, besides those to be tortured/interrogated, but he does have some compassion and a moral conscious. He does allow us to care for some wounded from our battles, most of the time they have a choice after: join us, or be returned to their home and to never speak of Nanda Parbat.

Most chose to stay, since most had nothing or no one to return to. Those who left never learned enough of our location, purpose, or anything for the matter to be a threat. Any rumors they spread only make them sound like a loon. Either way, while father is a man of compassion at times, at his core he is a man of opportunity. He knows this offer ensures more loyalty from them; the alternative is results in no hindrance.

"Oh, but she is the only survivor of the AMAZO wreck, therefore she is the only remaining associate of your last target. Have you forgotten?"

Of course I didn't forget I was to kill Anthony Ivo for his unnatural and cruel experiments, experiments that could potentially be a big threat or asset to the League. My father was no fool and decided to play if safe with such a bounty on the line by just ordering me to kill everyone and take whatever information possible. "I remember you said I could use any means necessary." But maybe he wasn't expecting a visitor in him home.

A slight sigh escaped him, "Yes, that is true, however, that does not mean you should have brought an unknown variable into the heart of our home."

"I'm sorry, father, but in the state she was in it would have been immoral to leave her. If she were to join us, I can tell she'll make an excellent warrior, given the proper training of course. Also, I carefully ensured nothing but the bare minimum of Nanda Parbat was revealed to her, so she would be no threat if she were to leave instead."

He didn't reply immediately, gears turning in his head. "She will not receive the normal policy."

I keep my eyes to the ground to hide the visible surprise as my eyes widen a little. Knowing father, he probably knows my reaction. True enough he seems to know and elaborates, "Based off your reports, she survived not only one but two ship wrecks, two mad men, and several days of starvation and dehydration. I can probably say many things about that woman, but I can't deny she is a survivor. You are right: she definitely has potential. But where you are wrong my child is where there is potential for one thing; there is equal potential for the opposite. While this woman could potentially become a great warrior in service of the League, she could just as easily become a lethal threat." **[1]**

Still not daring to raise my head I merely ask, "Father?"

"Because of this predicament: she will either pledge her loyalty to us, or die."

* * *

 **Ok, rules for flashbacks:**

 **1)** **Perspective:** **As you can tell, unlike the rest of this story so far, this chapter is in first person point of view. I plan to make some chapters purely first person perspective (mainly Sara and/or Nyssa's perspectives), some chapters will be written in purely third person point of view, and some will even have both in it. If this is too confusing for too many people down the road, I'll stick to one later (but this is kind of how my brain works).**

 **2)** **Time:** **The amount of time between the flashbacks will vary: it could be minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or the next flashback will pick up right where the last one ended. This is mainly because I'm focusing on the highlight moments so we won't have to sit through a ton of filler chapters (I'm talking about you Season 3 & 4 flashbacks...)**

 **3)** **Writing:** **While writing the flashbacks I view them as separate one shots that exist in the same universe, as a consequence there might be a difference in my writing style, formatting, or length.**

 **4)** **Updating:** **Depending on how long each flashback is I may update more than one at a time later, it also depends on what story I'm telling at the time.**

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 **[1] Ok so I had this exposition on League rules for a simple reason: the Arrow Comics (the ones tied to the TV show and not the actual DC comics). In the comics Talibah (the woman who freed Nyssa in season 4) is given a choice to join or leave (no death penalty implied if she refuses), but its implied and stated Sara didn't have this choice, so I came up with this reason to explain why.**

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 **Reviews:**

MoonlightCove: Lindsay was nice and all, but I'm still a Nyssara shipper. (though currently Nyssara is only happening in the flashbacks, present day and the future is a bit into spoiler territory and undecided) Sorry Captain Canary, you're more like a brother sister relationship in my eyes. Yup, the Lance two sisters are badass and awesome, I hope a Lance sister team up happens in cannon soon too, even if one sister is time traveling.

highlander348: Not much action in this chapter, but next chapter! It's kind of hard to have Sara fighting here when she's in the hospital…

Guest: Hope you like this update as well!

Dell03: Thanks I hope this chapter is enjoyed, even if it's probably not what you expected.

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 **So this actually is the longest chapter I've written (based off the word count), I think it's because first person is a lot easier for me to write… Ok, you have no idea how happy I am Legends addressed the ideas of the 50's like they did. We can do this people one more week of waiting! …is a week done yet? Anyways who else is hoping we see some of Sara's League flashbacks next episode, since it's all about Nanda Parbat?**

 **Next time (yes I'm adding this here): Sara's League trials.**

 **Thanks for reading and please review!**

 **3/20/16**


	11. Flashback 02: Reason

**Thanks to my editing friend!**

 **Arrow and any other franchise does not belong to me!**

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 **Flashback 02: Reason**

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My body felt like it was on fire, as the, the explanation? Running… Yes, I said it. Normally I wouldn't particularly mind, as I was always fairly active… but getting up before the sun rises just to go sprinting throughout the mountains? That was an entirely different battle, until the sun rose. If I have to be optimistic here, at least the running isn't at noon, the sun here feels like it's trying to personally grill you at every second, and that's not even factoring whatever other physical activity I'm doing.

It's been probably a month since my stint in the Med Bay ended. So far no one gives me any answers, Sila is also pretty tight lipped about everything. Nyssa gives some vague answers every now and then, but nothing satisfying enough. No one gives me an explanation for why all of this "training" is necessary; the answer is merely "you'll be thankful for it later." I would rather just contact my family and let them know I'm alive, but that also is a topic I never get any answers to. So instead I run.

Nyssa didn't have much trouble convincing me of this… er training regiment… yup… let's call it that and not cruel and unusual punishment. Let's face it after Slade and Ivo: I'm sick and tired of being that damsel in distress! Seriously, it's like those crappy movies where the girl is always in trouble, the hero saves them, and then the girl swoons for them… so naturally the idea to prove that art does not imitate life was welcomed instantly. But I really should have thought about what I signed up for.

'woosh!'

'Crap!' Is the only thing on my mind as soon as I see the arrow that would have skewered me had I been slower… if anyone is wondering why it is so urgent I don't take breaks, it's because if I don't run, Nyssa will nail me with an arrow. Apparently, the only time I learn stuff is when the alternative option is death… If one where to think about it, I got a C in chemistry and a B- in biology, but on the AMAZO I managed to learn a good portion of bio-chem within two years, so she technically has a very valid point.

Two more arrows land in front of me, which prompts me to ask: how many arrows does she have? Seriously is there some sort of magical force that replenishes her arrows? Now that I think about it, in any movie with archers, they never run out of arrows, unless the plot calls for it…

I sigh in relief when I see the landmark we started at, a very old, but sturdy tree. Even though Nyssa gave me a five-minute head start, it takes her less then one to catch me once I stop. "Your speed has improved, but your stamina could still improve."

And that, ladies, gentlemen, and others, is how she gives a compliment!

Whatever this training is, it's not exactly the mundane gym membership one would expect. Well, there's a really harsh but well meaning trainer and that's about it. I mean at first it was somewhat normal, mainly sprinting in the mountains, supposedly for starting with basic strength, endurance, and speed improvements. Well two out of three isn't bad, especially at the standards she seems to be aiming at. But then there's the stranger stuff: for starters, I'm learning Arabic.

I'm guessing this is more because many of the people here are from several different countries, all varying in native languages; the only universal one was Arabic. I will admit it's much more fun to learn than French… and Spanish… and that one time Laurel tried to make me learn Latin… But I credit that all to the teacher; Nyssa doesn't use textbooks and instead seems to be all for immersion. Honestly, that method failed for the first day, it was a strange time of charades… but in the end it seems to be more effective, as one month or Arabic immersion is more successful than several years of conventionally taught but failed attempts at Spanish or French.

Learning Arabic is a double-edged sword, good news: I'm starting to understand everyone; bad news: I'm starting to understand everyone. Most of the conversations I hear are bets on my chances of survival. Apparently, if I die by tomorrow the League will have a couple of overnight millionaires and one billionaire, there's even two thousand dollar bonus if it's by poison! Even though they never specified if it was self inflicted or not, I still think the implication is there.

What makes a bit more sense is the sessions in hand to hand combat, which quite frankly, makes the self defense classes and minor street fighting lessons look like a complete joke. However, I said a "bit more sense", the reason? I'm learning how to fire from a bow too, which is going to do wonders against a gun… Nyssa's reasoning boils down to: guns jam to easily and a bow teaches discipline; I apparently need that last one.

Nyssa seems a bit distracted; following her line of sight, I see a familiar man. He tells Nyssa something in Arabic, stuff that I haven't learned yet. But Nyssa's eyes have a flicker of a foreign emotion as she looks at me before calmly apologizing to me that she'll be meeting with her father, instead of continuing my training.

I wonder, was that fear in Nyssa's eyes?

[]

Normally Nyssa and I would spar, but she still hasn't returned. Instead the man who delivered her father's message spared with me. If I were to be honest, he didn't stand out much. He was a quiet man, which is probably the reason I have no idea what his name is. In fact, now that I think about it a lot of people here wouldn't stand out in a crowd, it's almost like they are ghosts of some kind. The only thing about this man that might make him stand out in a crowd was his bangs. His black, blinding bangs covered his eyes, but clearly since he managed to floor me twice today, he can still see somehow. That or he has some sort of x-ray vision… or he is blind but has some alternative Toph Beifong way of seeing. Face it, after the Mirakuru x-ray vision or tremor sensing isn't that farfetched. **[1]**

I am not going to say I'm doing that badly either, considering we are at two matches each out of five. If I had to guess, I'd say Nyssa is far above average in this place, not to be mean to Shaggy, yes that's what I'm calling him, but he's a lot slower compared to Nyssa, so I can actually take advantage of the openings he leaves… Nyssa just floors me if I try… But that makes me wonder, why is she personally teaching me? I've met a recent recruit, he started around the same time I did. He's a Japanese man who recently lost his child, Akio? I think. I've seen several different sparing partners for him, and his training doesn't seem as rigorous or as urgent. I'm not blind; I know for some reason, I am also not a normal case here.

But that begs the question, does that mean I'm in more danger or less? I think I know that answer is more, since I wouldn't have harsher training if I were in less danger. Even though no one gives me answers, I'm not blind. This place definitely isn't normal for starters. For one, Nada Parbat doesn't seem to exist to the outside world; even if I suck at geography, this still doesn't seem like a place that would go unnoticed if it were open to the public. Besides the Medbay, this place is really low tech, I asked Shaggy if he know what Wifi was and he gave me a funny look… and then asked me if it was an American swear…

Shaggy and I both circled each other. We were both unarmed at the moment, well sort of, I think he has a couple of knives, literally up his sleeves. I should probably make sure he doesn't pull them out on me later. He's a little taller than me, probably Nyssa's height, so that means he has a greater reach than me. Meaning if I make the first move, I have to quick and precise. If he decides to make the first move, I need to move and counter quickly. Either way it boiled down to if I was faster than him or not. Luckily for me, Nyssa has been focusing a lot on my speed.

The ten feet of distance between us closed in as he charged at me. Several swift punches were all aimed at my face. I match his speed as I dodged each one. He throws a punch with a bit more force straight at my chest, I don't dodge and instead catch his fist and quickly twist it behind his back. Unlike most normal people, he doesn't say uncle and instead does a back flip over me, switching our positions.

Pain shoots through my shoulder as his grip tightens. Using my free arm, I elbow him in his side while using the opposite foot to sweep his heel. He fails and releases his grip on me. A small gust of wind hits my neck that alerts me of the air born projectile. I manage to move fast enough so I keep my head attached to my neck like I prefer it to be, but the knife still nails my shoulder.

I jump back a bit to recover and he uses this time to stand back on his feet. A wince is held back when I pull the knife out of my shoulder blade. He pulls another knife out, I meet his blade with the same bloody one in my hands. I haven't really used a knife much here and he seems to be an expert. His cuts are clean and quick as my arm starts pouring red. I do manage to cut a bit of his hand, but not enough to hinder him in anyway.

He keeps slashing at me, I do my best to dodge, but in doing so I'm no longer on the offensive. If this keeps up I'm never going to get anywhere. I weigh my options, I could try out lasting him, but considering I just sprinted for several hours this morning I don't think I could outlast him. I could throw the knife at him, but he'd probably block or doge it and then he'd be armed and I wouldn't, or I could let him keep hitting me until I bleed out.

Another slash has a bit more force behind it and it's pointed at me to skewer me instead of simply cut me. I move ever so slightly and the knife lands in my arm.

"It's over." He says.

However, I'm smiling.

The blade in my left hand lingers around the back of his neck, "Yah, over for you."

I heard slow clapping in the background.

"Congratulations, you have passed your first trial."

A small whimper was suppressed as the knife was pulled out. Despite this the man's steel blue eyes seem to read me like an open book. If looks could kill I'm pretty sure I'd be dead right now, or a pile of ash; I'm not sure. Looking around, everyone bowed to this man, I however did not, unsure if I was supposed to and the fact I was never really that formal with authority figures. I was always a bit of a rebel. He was either amused by this or pissed; it was hard to tell with his unexpressive face and eyes. The only thing I could read off him was he was like Slade and Anthony: empty and crazy.

Sigh, here we go again…

With Slade I avoided eye contact at all cost, partially because I was worried he could tell I was lying about Shado and fear of the Mirakuru effects. Anthony's eyes would make me flinch whenever they were on me; I wondered if he was analyzing if I should be the next test subject.

But, blue met blue as I stared right into the Devil's eyes.

[]

First trial implied there was more than one trial that I expected. What I didn't expect? The dinner Sila gave me was drugged and by time I woke up I was in the middle of the mountains with only a small quiver of arrows, a bow, and a note attached to it.

"Sorry about drugging you, but it's a part of your trial. Just return to the compound by dusk tonight and you'll pass, don't and well… the animals will probably eat well tonight… So try to come back?

PS: beware of land mines.

-Sila."

And somehow I could imagine her saying this with her perpetual smile.

"PSS: Miss Nyssa will miss you if you die, so don't. ;)"

Ok, this kid is scary…

Seriously scary…

It was pretty dark out still but there was still some glimmer of light of to the left. I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that's the sun rising… there was enough light out to see there wasn't any particular trial anywhere. There was a river and no footprints despite the muddy area. Considering how low tech Nanda Parbat is, I highly doubt I was dropped off here by plane or helicopter. In other words, the only way my abductors footprints weren't visible was because he or she walked in the river.

The question was do I go up or down stream?

I could hear loud splashes of water behind me. Climbing up the nearest tree I could see the origin of the splashes out not too far away, a waterfall, a very steep one with too many jagged rocks and slippery surfaces for a sane person to climb. Meaning I should probably go down stream.

As I trialed along the river part of me wondered if I should instead be looking for anywhere else but Nanda Parbat, somewhere that would let me contact my family. But in the end I dismissed the idea, I had no idea where civilization other than Nada Parbat was, or if they were even near by. Also I did feel like I should at least say goodbye to Nyssa before I left, she did devote an entire month to make me stronger so I couldn't really leave with out at least a goodbye.

I stopped to drink from the river when I heard a small splash not too far behind me. Huh, it's probably a fish. My journey continued a bit more before I heard the sound again, this time a little closer. It's probably a fish. I keep telling myself, but I finger one of the arrows and tighten my grip on my bow a little. The sound rings out again, closer this time.

Running to the nearest tree, I quickly climbed up the tree, then to the longest branch and leaping to the next. Repeating this pattern until I was at in the middle of the tree that was directly across the tree I started at. The leaves hide me, as I notched an arrow. I heard more splashing to my left. Out of the corner of my eye I see a small raccoon? Yup, it's official: I'm paranoid. I release the tension in the bow and return the arrow to the quiver.

The raccoon was mainly wondering around the river, probably following my scent trail. I wondered if I could make a decent stew out of this raccoon, or if I could even cook it for dinner at all, probably not with my cooking skills. I sigh, well I guess if I want dinner, it's just another reason to get out of this forest ASAP. I wasn't really paying attention to the raccoon, which was a mistake.

Question: are raccoons normally a threat? Answer: no, they are cute, harmless creatures… unless you threaten its food. So did I threaten its food? Nope!

'Click.

If anyone's wondering what that sound was and why raccoons are threatening… it's because that was the sound of a bomb arming itself. Where was the bomb? Right at the foot of this very tree!

I really need to stop playing trivia with you people…

The explosion wasn't very large, but that didn't really matter since I was still caught in it. I was tossed into the air and then gravity was an ass and pulled me down, a very steep cliff. "F you gravity!" Was on a constant loop in my head as a rolled down the mountainside more. One sturdy tree trunk caught me and prevented me from falling, presumably to my death. Sadly I think it might have broken a rib… or ribs.

Quickly maneuvering so I was sitting on the tree trunk instead of dangling for dear life, I checked for any other injuries. My chest hurt every time I made a big movement, the pain was more manageable when I moved slower. One leg had a couple pieces of shrapnel in it and then other wasn't in any better shape. For starters, my ankle was purple and didn't like any pressure on it… with my luck I broke it… great.

As long as I didn't do anything fancy, my ribs would be fine, so that was my lowest priority. Pulling the shrapnel out of my leg stung each time, but definitely soothed my throbbing leg once most of it was out. I pulled out a spare bowstring and grabbed the straightest branches I could reach, using both for a cheap leg splint. Honestly, I got what I paid for with this splint, so in other words it sucked, but it would have to do.

The good news about all of this? I had a pretty good view of where I was. Surveying the area brought even better news: Nanda Parbat was right below me. So I guess falling down the cliff was a short cut… just one that would go under the "even though it looks cool, don't try this at home kids" sort of deal.

Looking down I did wonder for a brief moment if I should just let myself drop the remaining thirty or so feet… I said briefly, I wasn't stupid or suicidal, but still part of me wondered it I would survive. I mean I knew the chances was probably no, but if one tallied up everything else I survived that I probably shouldn't have then the cliff really didn't seem like a big deal.

It was kind of scary. "There's nothing to fear but fear itself," … yah, sure Roosevelt that might be true, but I think I found something else to fear, besides fear: not knowing fear. What scared me the most of looking down this cliff was the fact I wasn't afraid to die if I fell. The thought was simply: if I fall I'll die. That was it. It's not like I didn't register the meaning of death or anything like that, if anything the last year and so made sure I was very aware of death's meaning. In fact I one were to consider all the evil I witnessed and took part in on that boat, no both boats, I really didn't deserve the good fortune of living, let alone surviving. So if I didn't care if I died, why was I still going? Was it even fair for me to continue? Why should I go back to Nada Parbat? Why would I get the privilege to go home? I stared down to the compound in a lost daze, until the sound of chirping grabbed my attention.

Looking around I saw a yellow bird, a canary in a near by branch.

Laurel. That's right, she was the reason I had to keep going. I didn't feel like I really owed much to the world or vice versa, but I did owe it to Laurel to come back and apologize for everything even though she'll never forgive me, even if I would be forever dead to her. My parents probably were worried to. Not to mention I had that kid Sin to look after. So maybe I wasn't scared of dying, but I still had to go on. It might not be much, but I still had a reason to live.

This place wasn't going to change that.

So I, Sara Lance, would survive.

I _had_ to survive.

* * *

 **[1] Yes, this is a Avatar the Last Airbender reference… for those who don't know what that means: the character Toph is blind, but she can sense the vibrations in the earth so she can basically see in the conventional manner… actually she can see better than the average human… also go watch this amazing series! (seriously, it's online for free on a lot of websites… what are you waiting for?)**

* * *

 **Reviews:**

highlander348: Thanks, hope you liked this flashback too!

Dell03: I hope you liked this update as well! Hopefully the Nyssara relationship comes out ok, romance isn't my strong suit… snark is!

Moonlightcove: So far I've planned for Sara's flashbacks only, everyone else will mention past events at least. But who knows, I plan a lot ahead, but the story writes itself… so it rarely goes to plan. I do have at least one potential flashback in mind for Helena, Laurel, Thea, Sin, and Felicity, so we'll see.

* * *

 **So excited for Legends the new trailer is pretty badass. Also NYSSARA REUNION! NYSSARA REUNION! NYSSARA REUNION! Dreams really do come true! …sorry, I had to get that out of my system… But on a more serious note: please have Sara's league days next episode! please have Sara's league days next episode! …so maybe I'm not that serious today…**

 **Next time: We check in with the Lance sisters.**

 **Thanks for reading and please review!**

 **3/28/16**


	12. 2-1 Interlude: Shattered Pieces

**Thanks to my editing friend!**

 **I own nothing! ALSO SUPER SORRY THIS IS LATE!**

* * *

 **Interlude: Shattered Pieces**

* * *

If Laurel kept a diary, so far the past 24 hours could be summed at as: when did my life become a soap opera? Start with the fact her baby sister and boyfriend (now ex-boyfriend) had an affair and end with the fact both of them came back from the dead. Since reality was clearly losing what little sanity it had left, Laurel's only plan was a good night of sleep, a full eight hours, but of course reality wasn't that crazy and still turned every plan of hers to rubbish.

The night air was still and silent in Laurel's apartment. Earlier that night (technically early morning), Laurel helped Sara settle in the guest room down then hall. Honestly it was just like when they were children; Laurel slept the closest to the living room and the rest of the house while Sara was down the hall. Silence was shattered by a shriek in the night. For a brief second Laurel wondered if anyone broke into her apartment, then promptly remembered her guest.

Racing down the hall, Laurel stopped at the door hesitating for a moment as her hand gripped the doorknob. Slowly, the door was cracked open. Glancing down to the bed Laurel saw Sara was still asleep. However, the moonlight was reflected ever so slightly from her cold sweat. Slinking through the door and to her sister Laurel gently put her hand on Sara's. The hand moved from the bed to Laurel's wrist and in one swift movement Laurel was kissing the floor. Laurel's arm was being pushed up her back in the "say uncle" position, she could also feel someone standing over her.

"Sara, everything's ok."

In an instant Laurel was free and Sara stumbled back towards her bed whispering the same three words over and over: "I'm so sorry."

Laurel joined her sister on the bed, holding Sara's hand Laurel calmly reminded, "We're both safe, ok?"

But Sara kept repeating the same words.

Knowing how stubborn Sara could be Laurel sighed. Pulling Sara in closer she said the same words she always said whenever Sara had nightmares, "I love you and as your big sister I'll stay until you fall back asleep."

Sara's shoulders seemed to tense, but Laurel wasn't sure if it was the hug, the words, or both.

So until she fell asleep, Laurel held Sara close and never let go.

But around 5:00 AM, Laurel woke up in Sara's empty bed, later discovering her baby sister alone on the couch. It was not the most comfortable couch and there were no other fluffy pillows besides the one in her own bed; Sara however chose to improvise with a couch cushion. Laurel watched her sister sleep, but even then Sara seemed so tense.

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

Even though Laurel repeatedly told Sara there was no hard feelings about the Gambit incident, Sara seemed very determined to make amends. Sara even woke up early, an incredible feat for a night owl… or canary, to start this day of atonement. Instead of waking up to a noisy alarm clock, Laurel awoke to a lovely aroma originating from the kitchen. The sight of Sara and the stove nearly made Laurel run for the fire extinguisher out of pure reflex, and maybe childhood trauma. Sara noticed and commented, "You catch the kitchen on fire two times and suddenly you're-"

"Wait, two?!"

Sara nervously laughed, "Well… I guess you had mock trial that night… but that wasn't my fault, Tommy left his chemistry homework here!"

"What does that have to do with you nearly burning the house down… a second time?"

"Well, he was helping me cook by laying out all of the ingredients in advance… sadly he mislabeled water and hydrogen peroxide…" **[1]**

"I can't believe you two; no wonder you both got C's in chemistry."

Pouring the contents out of the pan, Sara smiled, "Look at that, I made breakfast and your house isn't on fire."

Laurel rolled her eyes, "Yah, but that doesn't mean it's edible."

Smirking, Sara said, "Try it, I'm wrong you'll only make a quick stop to the emergency room."

"That's not comforting."

"Ok, bet twenty bucks?"

Poking at the omelet, Laurel sighed, "Ok, deal… but we're also betting dish duty for the next week."

"Deal."

Laurel cautiously took a bite not even daring to speak she just slapped a twenty on the table.

"Pleasure doing business with you," Sara said while swiping the cash.

Laurel's blank stare elicited a mock offended response, "Keep in mind, the Lance family cooking gene wasn't as strong in me compared to you."

Still digging in Laurel bluntly stated, "Remember when you knocked that poor canary out with your pancake? Or whatever that was."

"Haha, didn't you try cooking for Ollie once and he had food poisoning for the next two days?"

Slightly red Laurel just mumbled, "Technically it was only twenty four hours…"

A small laugh escaped Sara, "Yah, well I had a pretty awesome teacher."

"Who ever taught you must be some sort of reality warper."

Sara's smile changed from a jovial grin to one of nostalgia, "I wanted to do something special for someone who saved me so a friend offered to help. But I will admit I caught the kitchen of fire a couple of times." **[2]**

"Sara!"

"Luckily, she had a bucket of water ready every time."

Laurel wondered, "Maybe this friend of yours should teach me sometime."

"That'd be a little difficult right now… or maybe I just want spare her from your cooking…"

Rolling her eyes Laurel jokingly punched Sara in the arm, "brat…"

Sara smirked, "but at least I don't poison people…"

"Anymore," Laurel added.

Sara nodded with a smile, "Fine, anymore."

Laurel rolled her eyes again, but didn't comment further, all that mattered was Sara was smiling.

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

Helena felt a little less at ease in the Queen Manor. Even though this was a movie night, Sara proposed as a "team bonding activity" because basically everyone was "socially inept" it was "important and could be fun," Helena still wasn't put at ease. In all honesty felt like you were meeting your lover's family for the first time, except Sara wasn't Helena girlfriend and Laurel and Helena technically met before. Or at least Laurel and the Huntress met before, Oliver's girlfriend and Laurel met before, but Helena Bertinelli was meeting Laurel Lance for the first time, formally at least.

The choice for the Queen Manor was another obvious effort on Sara's part to put both her sister and friend at ease because Thea's house was neutral ground. And the young Queen was there to act as a buffer along with Sara; Helena also guessed Sara didn't want to be the sole award middle woman either.

"So, what movie?" Sara asked.

Thea offered, "We can Netflix something, don't you have like six years of television shows to catch up with?"

"Actually, Sin gave me a list," Sara pulled out her phone and showed Thea the list.

"Did she give you a list or a novel?"

Laurel glanced at the list, "Well according to this, we should start with Jessica Jones."

Helena commented, "Sounds like a chick flick."

"Well yah, it's about a chick who could flick you across the room," Thea said holding back a glare; obviously she was a fan. **[3]**

Three episodes in and Helena stopped commenting on some plot points, partially because she was actually enjoying the show (Jessica's dry humor probably had something to do with it) and it was a little nostalgic. She could picture her and Michael intimately sitting together watching countless stupid movies together; it brought back simpler times. **[4]**

Her childhood, looking back on it, was relatively simple. She got whatever she wanted as long as she was daddy's good little girl in front of his business partners and smiled for the good appearances. Just one simple job, right? But one should remember Adam and Eve had one simple job too, and remember what happened to them?

It was suffocating to say the least.

She didn't make it very clear when something bothered her instead she just smiled. Smiling on the outside while dying on the inside. It was just, she didn't know she was dying on the inside until she and Michael happened. As cliché as it sounds, Michael made her smile, truly smile. It was a dream for her. But all dreams must come to an end as everyone wakes up from them.

Her alarm clock was a bullet to the chest, Michael's to be more specific.

But she still retained the memories of a real smile, and the practice of a fake smile. It made it easy to spot plastic smiles, just ask Felicity Smoak; she'd vouch on Helena's keen eyesight.

The more Helena observed people, the more she noticed they weren't really people.

Safety in numbers, maybe that's why society was created, why everyone was so desperate to be accepted, no matter the cost. Helena could only guess. People were just fake smiles to her. White lies were the web that held society together in her eyes. Superficial bonds hid the thin threads.

But, Helena was no dummy, society did provide safety for some, and masks were a requirement. Helena hated people had to constantly lie to live. Sacrifice who they were for integration and acceptance. They never could be themselves. Instead, there were only shadows. Shadows of people.

Contrary to popular belief, revenge was not the only thing she wanted in life. No it wasn't love, that died with Michael, and its ghost with Oliver, but nonetheless it was not love she was looking for.

She wanted something genuine.

An ugly truth over a beautiful lie, that's what Helena always preferred. It didn't matter if it was ugly or repulsive as long as it was real.

Sara gave her that.

When they talked it was as two people, no masks, or shadows.

Granted, like Oliver, Sara was never particularly chatty about her past, but unlike Oliver, if asked Sara would give simple, but truthful answers. Nothing was ever descriptive, but at least it showed Helena was trusted.

She admired Sara's honesty.

So to see such a plastic smile on Sara's face now was disappointing to say the least.

Also was it just her or did Sara's voice seem higher? **[5]**

Even Sara Lance lied.

Helena frowned.

Or maybe Helena was the biggest liar of them all for believing Sara Lance was different. Either way she was stupid and blind for not realizing it sooner, or she lied to herself about who her friend was. So did that really make her any different from Laurel Lance?

Silently, Helena left the room. She supposed Sara probably noticed after all the woman had some sort of, as Sin put it, "ninja radar". But Sara also knew Helena well enough she should probably leave her alone for a while, under these circumstances at least.

Helena snuck up top the roof. The nicest thing about the Queen manor was probably its location. Considering the tabloids, the rich liked their privacy. It was apparent since their houses made the entire outskirts of the city. Peace and tranquility filled the air. The night sky was made of beautiful blue hues and more importantly the stars shined brightly, no city smog dimming their lights. It was simple in a way, but a nice pure simple, not the boring simple.

"You know that's my spot," a voice from inside said.

Turning, Helena saw Thea's face in the window.

"I just needed some air."

Thea surprised Helena by joining her out on the roof, "It's nice right? The stars?"

"Yah."

"You looked kind of miserable," Thea said, not really expecting the conversation to go one way or another.

Helena simply answered, "Just noticed an ugly truth, or maybe I should say lie."

"I don't know the difference anymore."

Raising an eyebrow Helena asked, "Difference?"

"Between an ugly truth or a lie, really anything along those lines. I mean, my mom apparently was lying about the Undertaking, but supposedly it was all to protect Ollie and me. Ollie apparently was the Hood and his vacation was him bailing. Not exactly the most sane years of my life."

"Don't forget you have two vigilantes in your house, one is a partially reformed criminal."

Thea stared at the stars, "How can I? You remind us every few hours."

"I think I have bragging rights? After all, I'm hanging out with two daughters of a cop."

"You know, you're really lucky Laurel hasn't called you in yet."

Helena only smirked, "Maybe she just loves my charm and warm and fuzzy personality."

"I think you should thank Sara, probably pulled out the puppy eyes."

For a moment, Helena pictured Sara as a normal girl giving her sister the puppy eyes; it was hard to imagine Sara as anything other than her strong, but sometimes-vulnerable friend. Prompting Helena wonder something, maybe it was just as hard for Laurel to see Sara as a vulnerable and scared girl, when she was used to a confident, energetic, and carefree sister.

"Hey Squirt, what was Birdy like before the boat?"

Thea screamed, "I'm the average height for our gender!"

"Uh-huh."

"Sara? She was the closest thing I had to a sibling at times. I mean, I had Ollie, but there were times he was so far ahead of me, all I ever saw was his back to me. But Sara? She stood by me. The older kids typically ditched us, so we plotted some elaborate pranks. There was one time Ollie's hair was dyed purple for a whole month. We also might have painted Tommy's car Barbie style a couple of times."

Helena flatly muttered, "So she was a prankster back then too…" after receiving a questioning glance from Thea Helena added, "Birdy chained the princess and me together as our bonding exercise."

"That sounds like her," Thea added after pondering, "You know, it was interesting, we always played pranks on the boys, but Sara never let us prank Laurel. Wonder why?"

Somewhat jokingly Helena offered, "Miss rebellious didn't want to be grounded?"

"When I was younger that's exactly what I thought. But now I think its because she and Laurel were the same as me and Ollie. Sara only saw Laurel's back, only she never voiced that like I did, instead she hid behind a smile."

She was an only child, so it never occurred to her that siblings might chase after one another. But now it seemed Sara was running from Laurel, rather than towards.

"So, you've noticed?"

Thea nodded, "It's classic Sara to be all sunshine while she's hurting inside, and it's classic Laurel to never notice. I mean you can't really blame them, there's no malice or anything. It's just, Sara wants to be strong in Laurel's eyes and Laurel's just a little to quick to accept that, at least with her baby sister." **[6]**

Bits of Helena's frustrations faded as she continued to listen to Thea.

"Also my brother was really distant when he first came home. I imagine Sara's doing the same, only in the exact opposite method."

-BIRDS OR PREY-

Laurel sighed as she tossed her keys onto her counter. She turned around but to talk to Sara, only to find her little sister had already scurried off into the guest room. Well, it's not like she really could blame her; it was around 4:00 AM. They really didn't mean to stay out that long, but Thea insisted. Once Thea fell asleep, everyone took that as their chance to escape, but not without being gracious guests. While Laurel and Helena cleaned up the living room, Sara carried Thea to her bedroom.

The whole goal of the night was for Helena and Laurel to start talking… that was Sara's goal, not Helena's or Laurel's. As she picked up pieces of popcorn from the coach and floor, Helena straightened out the pillows and folded up the blankets. With those two the air was thick enough for a knife to cut it.

They never said a word to each other the entire clean up, except for one instance where Helena merely whispered one chilling sentence, shock and fear robed Laurel of a response.

But the words echoed in Laurel's head.

Pushing it aside Laurel spent the next few minutes in the kitchen, and no it didn't burn down. At least Laurel could make two things: the world's greatest mac & cheese and hot chocolate. She sprinkled cinnamon in her mug and tossed a few marshmallows in Sara's. This was a tradition between the two sisters. Normally, whenever Sara was disappointed or depressed, Laurel would make hot chocolate for the two of them. Sometimes they'd watch movies as they drank, or Sara would pet that stupid stuffed shark, or Laurel would be doing her homework (or attempting to, but she never got that far because her sister was more important).

Laurel didn't bother knocking on Sara's door, figuring her sister might be asleep. As she reached for the doorknob, the door instead was pulled open from the other side, prompting Laurel to crash into Sara. The mugs flew out of her hands, both spilling all over the floor and on Sara, but her little sister didn't so much as whimper from the boiling water.

"Sara, I'm so sorry!" Laurel screamed.

But there was no signs of pain on Sara's face, who instead calmly grabbed a towel and started cleaning up the floor.

Laurel grabbed her sister by the wrist and commanded, "No, the floor can wait, you go clean yourself up, while I find some pajama's for you."

"It's fine, Laurel, I'm…" But Laurel only mouthed 'now' and Sara complied, returning a minute or two later with a clean clothes.

Sara moved to clean up the mess only for Laurel to stop her by asking, "You changed your bandages too, right?"

"I was more focused on-"

But Laurel is already gone and back minute later with a first aid kit, "Shirt, off," Laurel demands.

Sara protests, "Laurel really, I can do this myself, you really-"

"You still have several stiches, it will be easier if I do this."

"But Laur-"

"Now."

Sighing in defeat, Sara turns around and takes off her shirt. Even if Sara's not facing Laurel she can still hear the small gasp that escapes her sister's lips. The scars, Laurel's staring at the scars. It only gets worse when Laurel removes the bandages and sees the rest of them on her back, where most of the brutal ones are.

Felicity and Helena made Laurel stay out of the room when they stitched up Sara, at first she thought it was because they were following the hospital regulations, but now it's apparent that they just wanted to hide the scars that marred Sara's body from her.

Some were long and definitely deep. Others seemed like burns, Laurel hoped it wasn't, but could only conclude they were from explosions or maybe electrocution. It was also evident that the other night was not the first night Sara was shot by a gun either. Laurel briefly remembered a similar display with Oliver, but this time made her much more frantic, just because it was Sara, her baby sister.

"Where did you-"

"You don't want to know."

That was the only answer Sara would give her.

Helena's words echoed in Laurel's mind, "You can't see any pain because you're too focused on the smile, and she's just too scared to tell you."

At first Laurel wasn't sure what Helena was talking about, but the scars before her answered that question, and at the same time left her with a thousand more.

Pulling her shirt back on, Sara tries to reassure Laurel, "Don't worry, it's not as bad as it looks. Pain and I came to an agreement a long time ago. Someone once told me, pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional."

Then it hit Laurel, Sara might not show she's suffering, but that doesn't mean she doesn't feel the pain. How could she be so stupid? Oliver had issues readjusting too. He came back changed and damaged, so didn't that mean Sara did too? Only, Sara, she hid it. But why? What was Sara afraid of? Laurel wondered, but the familiar, fearful blue eyes told her.

Sara was afraid of her, Laurel.

Fear of judgment and abandonment.

"You know, with me your suffering isn't optional. If something hurts tell me, please."

"Laurel I don't want to-"

"Lose me?" Laurel asked, and Sara nodded.

"Sara, whatever happened, it's in the past. A lot of things will change in life, in us, but just know one thing, no matter what, we'll always be sisters and you won't ever lose me, I promise," Laurel said while holding Sara close.

Her sister whispered, "Thanks, sis. But there's one thing you should always know. I love you, always and forever."

And so in silence, they picked up the shattered pieces together.

* * *

 **[1] Water and hydrogen peroxide look identical, so the Sara and Tommy's mix up is actually pretty reasonable, still dangerous, but reasonable enough, that one of the chemistry teachers did that at my school once.**

 **[2] Yes this exact moment will be elaborated on in a future flashback.**

 **[3] Basically what I say to the Jessica Jones haters.**

 **[4] If anyone noticed I chose for Helena to note this episode because this was the episode I felt Jessica and her sister, Trish started reconnecting. I also see a lot of parallels between Sara & Laurel and Jessica & Trish, respectively. So I felt it was fitting to have this here. But I didn't elaborate on it since it was just a reference.**

 **[5] Caity Lotz seems to actively make her voice higher whenever she plays a younger Sara, evident by the season 2 flashbacks (especially the Heir to the Demon ones) and the most recent episode of Legends. So I figured if Sara was trying to imitate her past self, she'd make her voice a little higher.**

 **[6] I noticed this while rewatching season 2 episodes, it's really subtle but I think this was actually cannon for a few episodes.**

* * *

 **Reviews:**

MoonlightCove: Thanks for your support, I hope this chapter was just as satisfying, and sorry about the wait!

Mike Uzumaki-Heartfilla: The future alter egos for the Lance sisters are in spoiler territory, but I will say Laurel will pick up a nightstick sometime in the future, I just won't tell you the circumstances.

LionAgron: Wish granted! Sorry for the wait!

* * *

 **LAUREL! Seriously, that's not cool Arrow writers! So a little of my coping went into this story… in fact the ending was supposed to be a bit more bitter sweet then this one, but since Laurel's in the gave, I seriously felt like we all needed some good Lance sister time here. Ok so I'm really sorry about the unintentional hiatus, but all of my files for this story were lost a few days before I normally post, so I had to rewrite this whole chapter on some very busy school nights. So sorry! I'm hoping the next few updates will be a bit quicker to make it up to you guys! But I never know how school will go, so hopefully this pans out. Also since I have to rewrite the notes now, and by proxy, the story, now is the best time to make requests for plot related topics. I can't guarantee they will be used entirely but I'll do my best to incorporate them!**

 **For the future if a chapter seems late check my profile page because I'll write a note about it under "Update Schedule". Also if you have a burning question you want a quick response to, I have a Tumblr now so ask me there if you want. (It's Cobalt-Canary like it is here & a link is on my page).**

 **Next time: Felicity is a scary teacher.**

 **Thanks for reading a please review!**

 **4/24/16**


	13. 2-2 Interlude: Sadist

**Thanks to my editing friend!**

 **I own nothing! SORRY THIS WAS LATE AGAIN!**

* * *

 **Interlude: Sadist**

* * *

Sin's face was lying on a keyboard, the screen above her head filled with several rows of code. "You are a sadist!"

Felicity chuckled, "You asked how hacking worked."

Sara shared a similar sentiment with Sin, her forehead against the screen while she glared holes into her own keyboard, "I hate parenthesis…"

But compared the Helena, these two were model students, "At least you got the first few, I don't get this…" Helena muttered in the corner. She was no longer allowed around the computers; since the last one Helena tried writing code on now had several arrows in its screen. Felicity was planning to give said computer monitor a funeral later, apparently. But Helena would probably smash it more later. **[1]**

"This computer's a poo head. Smoak, it keeps saying expects two arguments what does that mean?"

Felicity opened her mouth, but was cut off, "Check your contract…" Sara and Helena said in a perfect mocking unison, clearly it had become Felicity's catch phrase for the past few hours.

"What does that even mean?" Sin asked.

"We don't know," again in perfect unison.

Felicity looked over at Sin's screen and deleted the page.

"Did you just shift delete me?! You sadist!" **[2]**

"Trust me, you should be thanking me," Felicity answered.

The other three blankly stared at each other before exclaiming, "Sadist!"

Helena smiled at Felicity, "I. Hate. You."

"Well that's not new, but the smile is."

"I'm in my happy place," was Helena's response.

Felicity stupidly asked, "Where's that?"

Both Sara and Sin guessed, "Let me guess, Felicity is far, far away or gagged."

Helena smirked and answered in graphic detail, "I'm alone in the middle of nowhere. There's a cabin, inside it's just Smoak and me. She's tied up to a chair; her mouth has stopped flapping for once in her life because she's gagged. I'm beating the hell out of her with my crossbow. I break a dining table over her head, rip off her arm and shove it where the sun don't shine. Then I reach down and shake her hand." **[3]**

"Helena, you seem to have a lot of anger issues; I can help you with that," Felicity asked, one couldn't really tell if she was serious, condescending, or both.

"By volunteering to be my human punching bag?" Helena asked is a scarily childish glee.

"By being your therapist."

"So I'm going to willingly talk to you about my feelings? I'm sorry but within the first hour or so you'll be my punching bag…"

Felicity smirked at Helena, "You know, you might hear yourself as being a bitch, but all I here is you trying to be even more grumplestiltskin than usual because I saw your nice side!"

Sara smirked, "Oh, when was this?"

"When you were with Laurel for the first time, when you were shot, when you were having issues with your sister…"

Felicity, Sin, and Sara all said in a sing-song voice, "Huntress has a heart! Huntress has a heart!"

Turning away from the other three and staring out the window, Helena muttered, "Shut up! I hate you all…" but what they didn't see was a smile creeping on her face. What they could see however was a slight blush on her cheeks.

The other three burst out laughing, making Helena only turn redder. 'Damn it! I hate these people!' Helena screamed in her head.

Luckily for Helena, Felicity rained on the parade, "So now we're going to have a pop quiz!"

Sara groaned, Sin banged her head on the keyboard (leaving a long string of h's on her screen), and Helena snapped one of the arrows in her hands. They all had a looks of pure terror or murderous intent within their eyes.

"Thanks a lot, Thea," Laurel's voice came from the staircase.

Sara sprung up and ran down the stairs.

"Huh, Sar? What are you…"

"Don't ask, it's a nightmare up there, just run."

"But, Sa-"

"Bye guys, good luck Sin!" and with that the Lance sisters fled the building.

"Sara, don't leave me alone with this mad woman!"

Helena noted, "But I'm still here… oh wait, why am I still here? Lance, take me with you!" With that the Huntress scrambled down the staircase.

Sin banged her head against the monitor and muttered, "Sadist…"

-BIRDS OF PREY-

"How much do you want?" Sara asked.

Helena flatly stated, "We just sat through six hours of Smoak's torture camp."

"So all?"

"All sounds good."

"Laurel?"

Laurel covered her glass with her hand, "Nope, no more alcohol for me…"

Thea joined them at Verdant's dive bar; "Maybe once I get this place open again you could work here?"

Sara smiled at Thea's offer, "I can't work nightshifts."

"You could take the early night shifts?"

Sliding the drinks to everyone Sara added, "I'm legally dead."

Helena rhetorically asked, "So what is illegally dead?"

Thea paused for a moment, "Oh, that's a problem."

Laurel raised her hand, "I can fix that."

"I don't know it's…"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of everything."

Helena noted before taking a drink, "Jeez Lance, it's like you're worried about coming back from the dead…"

"Maybe I just wanted Laurel to do that mound of paper work for me."

"Same old Sar-bear," Laurel smirked. **[4]**

There was five seconds of silence before Helena's brain registered what she heard, "Wait, Sar-bear? I'm getting a lot of mileage out of this!"

Sara was slightly red and exclaimed, "You promised!"

"Was this a verbal conformation?"

"Yes?"

"So no contract, no nothing?"

"No contract, no nothing."

"Then how can you prove I promised?"

Sara pouted, "I hate when you lawyer me."

Laurel smirked, "Only because I'm good at it."

"So, Sar-bear since we're all trying to embarrass you…"

"…I'm not trying to embarrass her…" Thea noted.

"Well you should start," Helena said, "So, tell us about this Nyssa character."

Sara only had two words: "You sadist! And stop calling me Sar-bar!"

"What? I give nicknames to all of you people… your real names are lame."

"I prefer Birdy if I have to choose!" Sara exclaimed.

"Don't complain! I'm Squirt with her, and I'm the average height for our gender!"

Quietly Laurel noted, "I don't have a nickname…"

"Be glad!" Sara and Thea exclaimed.

Helena smirked, "Hm.. that's right… let's see… oh, I got it!"

"Got what?" Laurel asked.

"Your nickname, Harpy."

"Well, I kind of asked for that…" not forgetting the earlier comment, Laurel asked, "So Sara, who's Nyssa?"

"Thanks Helena…" Sara muttered.

"Glad to be of service!"

-BIRDS OF PREY-

Laurel watched as Sara was hanging upside-down from the couch, happily munching on popcorn. Sin would not so successfully steal some from the chair she sat in, which was near the couch. Laurel sat in the opposite chair from Sin, amused by the scene before her. She believed this was where the term "coming full circle" would apply, since about a decade ago she used to be in Sara's position and Sara in Sin's, only Sara was a lot more successful as a popcorn thief.

It was sort of weird to see her little sister somehow act as the big sister for a change. 'Wait, does that mean I have two little sisters now? Crap, what if they team up against me? They wouldn't… Yah they totally would… I'm in deep shit, aren't I?' Laurel ran through the revelation in the privacy in her head, but her face probably gave away some discomfort, not that the other two noticed.

"So I have a question? Did Felicity like her code name?" Sin asked.

"I think so, I mean she seemed pretty excited, but why Overwatch?"

Sin shrugged, "Because she's watching over you during a mission? Seriously, that whole 'Big Sister is Watching' trick she does with the cameras in this city is creepy at times."

"Oh, I want a codename!" Laurel requested.

"Didn't Helena call you-"

"Yes! And that will never be mentioned again, right Sar-b-"

"Mutually assured destruction!" Sara screamed causing Laurel to back off the stupid childhood nickname Sara tried to bury.

Laurel smiled, "I think it'd be pretty cool if the Lance sisters were also the Canary sisters, or something like that."

Sara stared at her sister, "Are you sure you want to?"

"Seriously?"

"Right, Laurel Lance always trying to save the world," Sara said, no amusement was present in her voice.

"I mean, my sister is a badass ninja now, I think I should cash in and get some ninja lessons."

Sara rolled her eyes, "I'm not a ninja."

"Could have fooled me, you wear black, beat people up, and that first night you really didn't talk much."

"Ok, I'll train you," Sara simply said.

"I know, I know, it's dangerous, and I'm a civilian. But Sar, remember dad taught us self defense, so you're not going to be starting from scratch and… wait did you say yes? If I asked Oliver he would have shot me down, or succumbed to the blackmail I have in reserve."

Rolling her eyes Sara answered, "You're the most stubborn, thick-headed person I know, and I know even if I didn't train you, you'd still go out and try to take on crime. Then you'd get beat up or killed. So I can't stop you from throwing yourself in danger, but I can at least make sure you survive… Wait, what blackmail?"

Sadly the nice sister moment was killed when the TV screamed, "You son of a bitch!" witch resulted in Sara drowning the TV in popcorn and remarking, "I really don't like that word."

"I don't like that term. I mean, you're not insulting an asshole, you're insulting his mother, who could be a very sweet woman for all we know!" Sin noted, while Sara nodded in agreement.

Sighing Laurel pointed out, "You two are reading way too much into that term."

"We are pointing out the stupid double standards in our society! How come we're the enablers if a guy screws up, but if a girl screws up it's only her fault?"

"I'm not sur-"

"How come when it comes to love triangles and there's two girls and one guy, the girl the fandom doesn't pair the guy up with is bashed and demonized not matter how smart, pretty, or nice they are?" Sara asked.

Laurel answered, "I doubt that actually happens."

"You have no idea how much irony is in that sentence," Sin said to no one in particular. **[5]**

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

Helena and Sara crouched on yet another rooftop. An eye on the building across the street, but their attention was elsewhere.

"I can't believe you benched me," Laurel muttered.

"She said she'd make sure you survived, and taking on a whole Vertigo ring on your first night is a really stupid idea," Helena calmly stated.

Laurel pouted, "Fine."

"See, The Harpy is being reasonable," Helena noted.

"I'm not The Harpy!" Laurel screamed.

Helena and Sara flinched, prompting Helena to remind Laurel, "Remember these things are in our ears right?"

"Oops…" Laurel muttered.

Felicity remarked, "It's not like she really listens to anyone…"

"I listen to people, just not Motor Mouth over there," Helena answered.

Sin and Thea rushed out of the building across the streets, "Yup, there's drugs in there!" Sin noted.

"You might what to hurry and beat them up, because we kind of pissed them off," Thea noted.

"How come they get to pose as buyers and I can't even join you two?" Laurel asked, pointing out the contradiction.

"Because they're going to run and not fight, right?" Sara asked, in what Sin called her "hard core mom voice".

"Right…" the two teens muttered.

"So stay in the van," Helena ordered, to which Laurel rolled her eyes.

Fighting like a well oiled machine, Sara and Helena quickly disposed of the goons, "You know one wonders why the bad guys keep higher these guys there so incompetent, they could really save some cash," Helena noted.

Sara shrugged, "I think they just like surrounding themselves with goons because they want someone to actually listen to them and so they don't look like the lonely losers they are."

"That makes sense," Thea noted over the coms.

"You do realize there's a lot more chatter on these missions, right?" Helena asked rhetorically.

Felicity rang in, "Thermo scans shows Count Vertigo is the only one left, he's in the room right ahead of you."

"Who names these guys?" Sara asked.

"Note how The Canary is asking The Huntress," Thea remarked.

"Point," Sara muttered.

Helena and Sara nodded at each other before kicking the door down, "Count Vertigo, you have failed this city!" Sara added, "I've always wanted to say that!"

"Too bad you can't do anything about it," Vertigo smugly stated.

"Uh, are you not paying attention? Two of us, one of you?" Helena asked.

"I think they hire all these goons, because they're dumber than the goons," Sara noted.

Vertigo smiled, "I like you two, much more fun than that green guy in a hood, so I'm going to warn you: what you just stepped on are bombs, they're set to go off if the pressure is released from the tiles you stand upon. Oh, and they're set to blow up the apartment buildings a block from here."

"Overwatch…" Sara muttered.

Scrambling on her computer Felicity confirmed, "Yah, he's not lying… guess he's slightly smarter than your average drug dealer."

Theatrically throwing his hands up in the air The Count said, "So I'm guessing you want to know my plan and why I'm doing this?"

Flatly both Sara and Helena said, "No, we really don't."

Vertigo shushed them and continued, "Who asked you? Anyways, it all started when I was a kid…"

Sara and Helena were both tuning him out, "Why do super villains love to tell you their whole motivation in a monologue?" Sara asked.

"It's super villain cliché 101," Sin answered.

"Ugh… can we shut him up already? He's worse than Smoak."

"Are you paying attention?" The Count screamed.

"Yah, yah… Drug dealer, dealing homemade drugs like an evil girl scout. Mommy issues, blah, blah… can you get anymore one dimensional?" Helena asked.

"I'm a very complex and deep person!" Vertigo screamed.

"Deep as a kiddy pool, pal," Helena deadpanned.

While The Count continued his temper tantrum, Sara found her throwing stars in her pocket and Helena grabbed a fletchette.

A loud bang was heard and Vertigo collapsed on the floor, "He talks too much," Laurel said putting down the gun she had in her hand.

"I disarmed the bomb!" Felicity shouted, but no one responded.

"Did you just…" Helena asked, not sure if she should be worried or impressed.

"No, Felicity has been working on a knock out gun, she got some help from a S.T.A.R. Labs employee and presto," Laurel said twirling her gun.

Sara smiled, "Nice job."

"As much as I'd like to here you go on, the police are like a minute away…"

"To The Harpy!" Helena exclaimed. **[6]**

"Stop calling me that!" Laurel screamed chasing after Helena.

"To The Birds of Prey!" Sara exclaimed with a genuine smile.

* * *

 **[1] At school I take a computer programming class and this is pretty much the general scenario there: I'm Sara, my editing friend is Sin, Laurel is anyone who doesn't take the class, Felicity is my teacher, and Helena is my other friend (if she could have a crossbow, but she hasn't voiced that happy place just yet). It's madness sometimes…**

 **[2] On some systems, if you hold the shift key while deleting something you can't undo the deletion, which is why Sin was so freaked out.**

 **[3] Started watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine a while ago, and it's hilarious; this "happy place" is a reference.**

 **[4] In "Heir to the Demon" Laurel calls Sara Sar-bear in a flashback, but it's really easy to miss, I only noticed it when I was going through coping with Laurel's death.**

 **[5] This remark is here because Sara and Laurel (mainly Laurel) receive a fair amount of bashing from the Olicity shippers.**

 **[6] Don't worry this isn't going to be Laurel's actually code name, but it's definitely her official Helena nickname.**

* * *

 **Reviews:**

Dell03: I'm glad I got you to ship Nyssara, they're awesome, and welcome to the dark side, we have cookies! I'm so crushed they pretty much brought Nyssa on Legends just to sink the ship… but I still have hope! They had more chemistry in those three minutes than any of the other ships in the DCCW, in my opinion and it's pretty clear they still love each other. As for Nyssa in the future for the present day story line, that's actually a very interesting question, you see Nyssa will [the following has been censored due to the spoilerly content… and because I enjoy trolling you people ;) ].

MoonlightCove: Yah, I just blankly stared at the screen, because it took me a couple of minutes to process the stupidity of Laurel's death. Sadly it's permanent, but I'm still going to hope Sara fixes this mess in the Legends finale. It's so stupid to because the writers flat out admitted they killed Laurel because they dug their own graves (no pun intended) with the whole grave plotline, so someone had to die and they picked the person whose death would give the most plot… completely ignoring Laurel's own characterization, the Black Canary mantel, and common sense. So in short: the writers weren't thinking at all. Sorry for making you cry, but it hopefully it was worth it? Also sorry if I made you worry again with the late update, school is a pain though. Don't worry if I lose interest in a story I'll always post an update to say that, I wouldn't just leave everyone hanging, that's too sadistic even for me ;) .

* * *

 **Ok, I'm going to be blunt here: I've started following the #NoLaurelNoArrow movement, but only partially. I'm pretty much watching Arrow for the Thea scenes (seriously I just fast forward through the part of the episode if Thea's not in it); so if a throwaway comment comes in the future that contradicts this AU, it's because I haven't seen that part of the episode, and/or it's an AU. If anyone has seen the sneak peek for Legend's finally I just have to say: Operation Save Laurel is a go people! Go Sara! (I just needed to get that out of my system).**

 _ **Super sorry this was late, this chapter took a long time to actually write since I kept debating what was actually amusing and/or had a point to it, and what was just filler that shouldn't be here. Also finals are coming up so the past two weeks all of my teachers have been cramming extra assignments in. I'm also sorry to say that updates might be a little sporadic until the end of June, this is mainly because of finals and (long story short) I won't have wifi for most of June. Don't worry there will still be updates, its just some might come at random times, i.e. earlier or later.**_

 **Next time: A terrible experience at a hotel.**

 **Thanks for reading and please review!**

 **5/18/16**


	14. Flashback 03: Dense

_**I'd like to really thank everyone for being really patient during the last few moths, school was a beast and I was either without a computer, working on my first job, or obsessing over Pokemon Go (during my work breaks). You people are truly amazing!**_

 **Thanks to my editing friend!**

 **I own nothing!**

* * *

 **Flashback 03: Dense**

* * *

If one was drugged and left in the middle of nowhere once a second occurrence mustn't be that bad, right? Wrong. You know that saying, "Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me?" Yah, we're on the "shame on me" part. Last night Sila gave me a victory drink… and like an idiot I drank it. Why do I let this kid keep drugging me?! There's a sentence I never thought I'd say. So now I'm in the middle of somewhere. It's not exactly nowhere because I seem to be in a hotel room of sorts. Instead of a bow and a loaded quiver this time I left with a black duffle bag. One would hope after several broken ribs and other bones I'd be in the clear, but no, two weeks of rest (with training as well) and I'm resuming the trails. Great. If anyone knows that feeling you have just after you wake up for school or work than multiple that by "ugh…" and you have my current mood.

Unzipping the duffle left me with an envelope, some cash, throwing stars, and a dagger. After opening the letter I find a file with a photo of a human trafficker his home address and the words "kill him." In an instant my grip on the note tightened, crinkling the bottom right hand corner. Looking at the photo again I flip the back over to find the words "time limit: 8:00 PM two days from now".

I breathed slowly, trying to calm myself down. Let's go over the facts: they spent a couple of months training me; Nyssa, a highly ranked member, was my teacher. I'm not allowed into civilization or communication with the outside world during that time. They want to keep their organization secret by telling me next to nothing about themselves. Considering they've spent so much time on training me, keeping their secrets, and they have a deadline, they must be watching me somehow. They wouldn't risk me spilling what little I knew to the outside world, contacting my family, or just bailing, to ensure all three don't happen someone must be watching me. Since they want me to kill someone, I can assume they, themselves won't have a problem killing me. Basically it's a simple scenario, I kill him, or they kill me.

The only thing they should have thought about is, I don't fear death. But, they aren't stupid, they probably know that, so why would… I froze when I pulled the next photo out of the envelope.

No, they weren't watching me. They didn't have to. They know I'll come back. They know I'll kill for them.

Staring back at me was a photo of my smiling sister, Laurel, and her address is sprawled out on the back. I grit my teeth staring at the photo, but I was careful not to damage it in any way.

Correction: it was this man's life or Laurel's.

[]

It was all a blur, at least that's what I wish could say.

But I remember the knife, and how the crimson color seemed to stain my hands more than the blade. How if it weren't for the pool of red, one could still believe he was sleeping.

I would have.

There was no scream to haunt me, the cold, quick blade ensured that. I know that the limp body and that sea of crimson will suffice.

Once again, fear had found me.

That fear of not feeling fear.

Part of me wanted to forget that man, but the rest of me? That part of me was relieved in a way. If I could still regret my actions, then maybe, just maybe, I could atone later.

That train of thought repeated over and over in my head as I returned to Nanda Parbat. I wasn't really paying attention as I found myself in a part of Nanda Parbat I'd never seen before. Looking around, I saw a small stream running. There was a small opening to a cave in the side of a mountain, but it was pretty small so only an animal or a little kid could fit. Trees hid the cave, stream, and me from anyone else.

I started washing my hands in the stream, but they never seemed clean enough… hmm… I feel like I read about something similar somewhere… **[1]**

"Hi!" Someone behind me said.

Startled, I fell backwards, but I didn't hit them. As I opened my eyes, a smile greeted me.

"Sila?" I asked while trying to keep my composure, but I blew it once I asked, "Wait, what are you doing here?!"

A chuckle escaped her, "I think that's my line, this is my secret place after all."

In an instant I had my knife around her neck, but as always she wasn't bothered and the smile continued to mock me.

My voice ran cold as I asked, "who are you people?"

Her normal smile seemed to drop a little, "please put it away." She began to stare me down. Something flickered in her eyes, it seemed foreign, but it was gone as soon as it came.

I didn't listen and continued the staring contest, "not until you give me some answers."

With her normal smile she answered, "I can promise I'm not your enemy, can't promise for anyone else though."

The blade in my hand felt a little heavy now, Sila seemed to notice and used the opportunity to create some distance between us. Now facing me from the other side of the stream she continued, "Have you noticed? Noticed no one gave you the name to this organization?"

Honestly, yes I had but I figured because it was an Arabic phrase I wouldn't understand yet, or something would get lost in translation.

"The League of Assassins."

Well… there was nothing lost in translation…

"Wait, are you serious?"

"Yes, not the most creative name… I mean it would be like naming a wolf "Wolf", or a sphere "Sphere"…" **[2]**

"So, all of you are murderers…" I muttered.

She no longer faced me as she continued, "A majority are," her voice was a bit quitter and melancholic that usual.

"Monsters…" I muttered as I started at my bare hands, all I could see was red.

"Maybe, but they aren't killing people for psychotic reasons, they do have reasons. Good or bad? Honestly that depends where you stand in the world, how you view the light here. I guess what I'm saying is: everything is relative. No one joined against their will."

"I did."

"Well… you're an unusual case, but technically there was a choice. The options were: leave you and let you die, bring you to some other hospital, or take you back to Nanda Parbat. Obviously your death wasn't a favorable option. Taking you to another hospital would be more complicated. Miss Nyssa would be making unauthorized contact with the rest of the world, and Ra's would probably kill you since he can't kill his heir."

Pulling some grass out I muttered, "I'm surprised she cares…"

Her bright smile reappeared, "People are so dense sometimes," her sing-song voice came off in a mocking tone.

"Huh?" I asked, but she ignored me and continued.

"The main ideology here is to replace evil with death. The man today, for example, had several charges of rape and human trafficking, however because his brother is a judge he's never sentenced. I mean if someone is dead, they cannot harm the world of the living. Millions of lives could be saved, at the cost of a few."

Annoyed I asked, "So you agree with this?"

Crouching down and staring at the fish, she said, "They don't kill anyone else if they can help it."

I said nothing, as she never gave me an actual answer to the question. My silence however seemed to speak volumes to her.

"These fish are amusing, but I don't love them."

My only response was, "huh?" since there was no segue at all.

"They all swim against the current, they don't follow status quo or stupid codes within society. Although they struggle, they're free."

Please don't tell me this kid is giving me some sort of symbolic conversation… Isn't she like nine?! "Are you saying it's ok if I don't approve?" Meh… worth a shot…

"Only dead fish go with the flow, but be careful, you don't want to create waves, the fisherman will notice, and you'll be killed."

Ugh, I give up, "What?"

There was just a smile before she finished, "But if you think about it, all the fish swim in the same direction, is it because they don't want to be swept up in the current, or do they want to be in unity? Meanwhile birds fly in many directions, I believe they are the only ones that are free."

(Just for the people out there that are as confused as me) translation: Sila's a massive troll.

Or at least that's what I thought back then. But looking back, so many things were lurking in the shadows, some I regretted seeing, and some I regretted not seeing, until it was too late.

* * *

 **[1] Sara is referring to Macbeth, as many of you probably figured out.**

 **[2] The whole naming a wolf "Wolf" and a sphere "Sphere" is a reference to Young Justice, where the two team pets are a wolf named "Wolf" and a sphere named "Sphere."**

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 **Reviews:**

Guest: Thanks!

kindleflame5: Yah, Felicity is someone to watch out for. Honestly, when the characters banter like that the chapter kind of writes itself. Hm… Lance sister identities are [spoilers are censored!] or maybe I myself still have no idea…

highlander348: So do I, why did she leave Arrow?

DCBorrelli: Thank you so much, I'm always a little worried about how everyone comes off to the readers. I'm always like: did I make Helena too mean? Did I make her too nice? Is Sin's personality here mostly how I interpret her character and everyone else is super confused? Stuff like that, so thank you so much!

MoonlightCove: Yes I saw the Flash finale; I have so many mixed feelings. On one hand I'm: Flash point yes! Are we going to finally see an Earth-1 Jessie Quick? Killer Frost? On the other hand I'm like: Wait, this contradicts Barry's entire character development! Wait everyone's character development is reset! Was this all for nothing? What happens to Legends (I don't care enough about Arrow at the moment to ask). Yes, I really hope Sara meets Black Siren soon (I really wanted to write a little one-shot on that, but I barely had time to work on this dinky chapter…)

Songbird73: Aw… Thank you so much! I always feel like people could use Sin more and you can't do Birds of Prey without The Huntress! At this point in time I'm so desperate for a cannon and prolonged Lance sister team up I'll take a Black Siren and White Canary team up.

* * *

 **I know, super short chapter, but I just wanted to try something out with symbolic dialogue. If anyone actually understands what Sila is saying tell me in a review, if you're right I'll PM a future spoiler (there's a lot she's saying, so more accurate the more detailed the spoiler). Don't worry if you don't get it (since this is my first try at this), it will be explained later. Ok, the next chapter will come much sooner than the last few, since I actually have a bit of free time now. Also I've stopped watching Arrow… (Thea's gone so why not?) Lastly, who else bawled their eyes out when Sara found out Laurel was dead?**

 **Next time: Smaok and Sin, what mess have you gotten into?**

 **Thanks for reading and please review!**

 **7/21/16**


	15. 3-1 Satisfaction: Try to Keep Up

_**AGAIN, SUPER SORRY FOR THE WAIT! THANK YOU SO, SO MUCH FOR BEING PATIENT!**_

 **Thanks to my editing friend.**

 **I own nothing!**

* * *

 **Satisfaction: Try to Keep Up**

* * *

The hum of her bike's engine was in a way a constant in her life, that normally brought a small sliver of comfort. It really wasn't much, but it was still enough to ease Helena Bertinelli after some rough nights.

But Helena's mind was far from at ease.

Habit was such a strange concept. The stagnation of life's moments set her at ease but made her complacent. Different, daily routines entered her life: the normal one with Michael, the quiet lurking in the shadows while waiting for the perfect opportunity for to bring about her father's demise, the short (and regrettable) time with Oliver, the tireless hunt for her prey, and lately, the time spent with her frie- acquaintances.

Acquaintances.

Helena mused Sara must be feeling something similar, granted the little bird never breathed a word about this, but Sara was more of a woman of action when it came to her feelings. She wasn't Oliver, but in a strange way, she wore her heart on her sleeve. The signs were there. It started with something simple, just an anomaly Helena thought, Sara, didn't kill.

She still was brutal at times, the rapists, in particular, received broken ribs as a mercy and several shattered limbs in addition if Sara was in a bad mood, but none were killed.

Simple things. Sara's voice was more steady and casual, there wasn't that underlying emotion that was always there. Fear to be exact. She was more open, there were more jokes flying around, and they were there as a genuine expression, not a way to deter one's attention from a topic she desperately wanted to avoid.

The little things made Helena suspect.

The more obvious actions were merely confirmation.

Sara moved in with Laurel, temporally. The Clock Tower was still the place Sara intended to stay at, but neither Helena nor Sara could stay there for a while. Felicity insisted upon some renovations and kicked them out. Damn the princess… Helena had to bunk with Sin, who snored… a lot. But the very fact Sara allowed for more permeant renovations in the first place was the real piece of evidence Helena needed. Before Felicity made a suggestion, Sara quickly, but subtly shot her down, claiming it was too much trouble.

But three days ago was different, Sara never said yes.

But she didn't say no.

And the damn princess took that as an invitation to make a not-so-friendly takeover, which resulted in a very cranky, sleep deprived Helena, and ended with The Clock Tower gaining running electricity and water (Helena doesn't even want to know how she pulled that off without putting them on the grid) actual bedrooms with actual beds (ok, that Helena won't really complain about), even the floor boards were fixed so there were no more gaping holes to fall through. Helena reluctantly admitted Smoak had some serious game when she wanted to, but of course, she never said that out loud… for fear of inflating Smoak's ego even more… not because she worried about the teasing she'd receive as a result… no. Defiantly not.

What bugged her was the fact, Sara was used to this now. Birdy could make simple dinner plans with her sister in a casual manner, in a normal manner. Because it was their normal now. Helena even teased Sara by claiming "Laurel domesticated her", but what Helena didn't want to admit was she herself wasn't too far behind.

She could feel her paranoia calming a little, she no longer looked over her shoulder every so often. It almost made her feel, normal. Well, as normal as she could be now.

And that made her anxious.

It was almost too peaceful for her.

So when Felicity found their first sliver of a lead, Helena jumped at it. It was a small hint of her dad's location, but it was still something. She couldn't wait any longer, and this was no longer a matter of Helena's impatience.

She just left.

She didn't even tell Sara.

Because that stupid bird would have followed her.

That stupid bird would put her whole world on the line for her.

But Helena couldn't, wouldn't allow her.

So she simply left.

Granted she didn't want them to think she was being a bigger ass than normal by just ditching them, so she left a note… she was a somewhat civilized person after all…

That said, she can only smirk at what blackmail she used on Smoak to keep the motor mouth quiet on Helena's whereabouts for the next week or so. If Helena knew it would have worked this well then she would have used it when she needed some peace and quiet… so pretty much the next time Felicity opened her mouth.

But said blackmail was no miracle worker. Cause let's face it keeping Chatty Cathy quiet for Helena's sake was a miracle and then some.

Helena grimaced looking in her mirror, there was a faint light behind her, but there was no mistaking the two twin beams of a motorcycle's headlights.

She was hoping it was just a coincidence, but it had been several hours and the same bike has followed her from Starling.

'Damn, that bird,' Helena thought.

Sighing, Helena pulled over by the nearest boulevard sign that read "Coast City 30 miles".

Leaning against her parked bike, Helena tapped her foot impatiently.

The lights caught up in less than a minute but took a few more to realize where Helena was.

"You know I don't need a babysitter Birdy," Helena sighed.

The rider parked her bike next to Helena and took off her helmet before retorting, "I don't know you do some pretty stupid stuff without supervision."

In an unamused voice, Helena muttered, "Oh, great another critic who thinks she's on a morally high horse."

Laurel Lance only rolled her eyes as a response.

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

If it wouldn't've impaired her fighting abilities Helena would have deafened herself two minutes ago, maybe even at the start of the conversation. She didn't know how it was possible but she found someone who nagged her on morality more than Smoak. No wonder Sara has such a complex over killing, her damned sister is on such a moral high horse that she probably got these speeches every week growing up, and that was when she was a mild pickpocket and major rebel, she wasn't even an assassin then!

"Hey, are you even listening?" Laurel irritably asked.

Helena continued to bang her head against the sign post not even stopping for her cheeky response, "Something about murder is bad?"

"Because it is!"

"Uhuh…"

Helena continued to bang her head.

"Careful you can't afford to lose any more brain cells."

"Don't worry, as someone who had brain cells, to begin with, I can tell you I'm fine."

Laurel sighed, "And here I thought Sara's teenage rebellion phase was problematic."

"And here I thought the most annoying person in the world was Smoak, but hey, I guess this interaction has proved us both wrong!"

Laurel opened her mouth probably to start the lecture again only for Helena to cut her off, "Listen Harpy you're a lawyer right?"

"Last I checked," Laurel own border between annoyance and fury seemed to be thinning at a similar rate.

"So you lawyers like evidence to support your arguments right?"

"That's kind of how the court system works…"

"Ok, the why don't I show you some evidence for my argument?"

Laurel seemed unimpressed by the offer so Helena pushed a litter further, "What's the problem? If you're really so confident in the whole 'murder is never the solution attitude' then you shouldn't have a problem hearing my case right?"

Helena put a lot of effort in to repress her growing smirk of satisfaction, she could see the gears turning in Laurel's eyes.

Surprise dissipated into a sense of calm, "Why don't we make it a bit more interesting?"

Helena raised an eyebrow, "I'm listening."

"While you're presenting yours, I'm going to present mine. Winner gets a whole week free from mind-numbing lectures on morality/snide comments that undermine any dignity that remains."

The Lance scoffed, "Just a warning: I'm a lawyer, I love to argue."

"No, you miss non-confrontational?" Helena said with mock sincerity.

Laurel rolled her eyes, "Ok, defense, where to?"

"Coast City's an hour away… try to keep up."

"I will make you eat my dust."

"We'll see Harpy; we'll see…"

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

There was an odd feeling of déjà vu Helena felt since she was traveling with another Lance, but the illusion of familiarity soon shattered when Helena realized starting noticing some details.

Details like their current shelter. Sara preferred to keep a low profile by hiding out in abandoned buildings like the Clock Tower or really any place under the radar with a vantage point. Laurel, on the other hand, seemed to have the idea of hiding in plain sight by booking a room in a motel. She gave Laurel some credit though, she did coax Motor Mouth into making some fake ID's for them to check in with. Helena also wouldn't complain about a soft bed instead of a church bench.

There was always a knock on the door before Laurel came where Sara would have just walked in behind Helena and scare the living daylights out of her with that ninja trick.

But the biggest detail Helena realized was that she basically turned her quest for vengeance into babysitting Laurel Lance. To be fair to Laurel, when paired with your everyday criminals Laurel could hold her own if she needed to, but anyone who actually learned how to fight, had a decent gun, or was a part of an organized group could easily dispose of her. It wasn't really Laurel's fault Helena mused, it's not like everyone was tutored by a green hooded guy in a basement or an organization of assassins.

Naturally, the first stop in Coast City was a quick shopping spree for supplies, and by shopping spree, Helena totally meant a B&E for some "toys".

The duffel bag of goodies was tossed at Laurel's feet, "Pick whatever, but I'd recommend the handguns."

Laurel furrowed her brows as the carefully pulled the contents out, somewhat worried of potential explosives Helena probably stole. Her suspicion wasn't unfounded since there were three flash grenades and some small explosives. Laurel stared at the stun gun, "This seems a bit tame for you."

Helena didn't face Laurel as she replied opting to load her crossbow and take aim, "I got it for the Princess, Birdy's trying to teach her some self-defense but she's a slow learner on that front. She can't handle a gun's recoil, let alone aim." She fired three bolts into the target onto the wall.

The Lance arched her eyebrow, "Maybe I miss read you."

"I don't know what you're talking about," two more shots hit the target.

"You actually care."

"No," Helena bounced a tennis ball in the air and fired. It hit.

"Then why'd you get Felicity a stun gun?"

"So she wouldn't be so annoying…" Another ball, another hit.

"Because you wanted her to be able to protect herself. You care."

Through her teeth, Helena answered, "Do. Not."

This time she only grazed the ball.

Laurel only smiled with, "Do. To."

"Damn, lawyers are annoying!" Helena clipped her crossbow onto her belt.

"I do my best!"

Laurel shifted through the bag until she found the two handguns Helena mentioned, but something else caught her eye. "What's this?" she asked holding up a black baton.

"That's a nightstick, thought it'd be fun the whack stuff with and blow off steam."

Laurel pulled on its end to find its length expanded.

"But, maybe you should try it out."

The Lance collapsed the baton, "probably not," Laurel shuddered at a memory of her flailing around with Sara's bō.

As if reading her mind Helena noted, "It's not the same as Birdy's stick… a bō is more precise, for offense and defense if you can use it right. The nightstick is more of blunt force or quick jabs, more for offense. You could probably handle it."

A smile giddy smile started forming on Laurel's lips.

"Besides any monkey can wave a stick around," …and there went the smile.

"Gee… thanks."

"Hey, your competency is a monkey's or above…" under her breath Helena added, "better than most of the population…"

A soft sigh escaped Laurel, who decided continuing this conversation would only result in more defensive insults. "Wouldn't that be a problem? If you can't really defend with this…"

"I never said that, I said it's for blunt force or quick jabs. I think the saying is, a good defense is a strong offense?"

Laurel mumbled, "So is that what you do?"

"Huh?" Helena asked as she didn't catch what Laurel said.

"Oh, nothing..." Laurel said, facing the window so Helena couldn't see her smirk. She saw trembling guy followed by several other guys, they weren't trembling.

Helena rolled her eyes, not buying it, "Sure…"

"Helena."

"Ok, you don't have to say anything…"

"No, Helena. I think he's in trouble…"

Helena's only response was to toss a different bag into Laurel's arms and to grab her own mask.

Laurel gave a questioning glance back.

Helena referred to Laurel's striped t-shirt and jeans, "What? I hope you weren't planning on running out in that fashion disaster." **[1]**

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

There was eight of them. Was, Since Helena's bolts nailed two into a wall, don't worry she pinned them by their clothes. Laurel also proved herself to be a decent shot by hitting two others in the shins with a gun. **[2]**

"Who knew, you actually have decent aim."

Laurel shrugged as she moved out of the way of one guy's fist, "Spring breaks were spent with Dad and Sara at a gun range, he wanted both of his girls to be able to defend themselves."

Helena grabbed said guy and twisted his arm behind his back then kicking him into a wall.

'Three left,' Helena noted.

"Bitch!" the guy who was currently kissing the wall screamed.

Helena fired another bolt an inch away from his head.

The guy paused, "I-I mean that in an empowering way… people always think bitch means something negative… but I think it means your strong and…"

"Shut up," Laurel muttered.

"Yes ma'am!" he whimpered.

At this scene, the other three guys were either pissed, on the verge of pissing themselves, or both.

The pissed guy pulled out a gun and trained its barrel on Helena only for Laurel to shot in foot, this resulted in an amusing game of the most pathetic hopscotch either woman had ever seen.

The victim at this scene did what any sane man would have done at this point: run for his life, but was yanked by one of the remaining guys.

Helena, not missing a beat, nailed the assailant's other hand. A loud pitched scream filled the air. As he was flailing around Laurel ran up to him and bashed his stomach in with a nightstick.

"Huh, the stick is actually an effective weapon."

"The cavemen knew that, Harpy."

"Great… so I've evolved from a monkey to a Neanderthal…"

Helena shrugged, "At least you're evolving at all…"

Seeing the guys all crumpled onto the floor, except for one who was in fetal position (and actually did piss himself), the two strolled down the alley causally.

Fetal position guy saw them coming in his direction and did what any corned animal did: something incredibly stupid. After Helena and Laurel passed him, he charged at Laurel's back with a brick he found nearby. He aimed at her head, but Helena turned around and pointed a loaded crossbow in his face.

His nose was about a foot away from the bolt's tip.

"Is this really a smart move that will keep you alive?" Helena asked, her gray eyes had a dangerous glint in them.

At this point, more than just his underwear was soiled and the brick fell out of his hand and onto his foot. Another yelp, and another pathetic game of hopscotch.

The night ended with the guy actually cuffing himself to a nearby pipe, out of fear for his life.

Police sirens filled the air, the lights flashing, and the two vigilantes were no longer in the ally.

From up on a rooftop, they watched the scene below them with mild amusement.

"I think we might actually make a good team," Helena said, a slight smile forming.

"Oh, wow, are you ok?" Laurel asked.

"Yes?" Helena asked with confusion.

"Sorry, I had to check you said something nice to me, not in a backhanded way, or with an insult after."

"Wow…"

"Did it hurt?"

"…just wow… also, you're one to talk about backhanded compliments!"

They both just stared, until they broke out into soft laughter.

Laurel smiled, "Maybe I really did misjudge you. Truce?"

She held her hand out.

"Truce."

Helena took her hand.

"Friends?" Laurel asked.

Helena let go of her hand.

Not facing Laurel, 'I still have my pride damn it!' Helena exclaimed within her head.

Helena raced out of the alley without any further comments.

Laurel smiled because:

Helena didn't say yes.

But she didn't say no.

\- BIRDS OF PREY -

.: Two days later :.

"Name?" A man asked.

"Don't you know it already?"

The man rolled his eyes.

The women huffed, "Helena Bertinelli."

"Looks like daddy's little girl got sloppy," the police officer mused.

Helena remained silent, her eyes not even looking at him, but rather at the handcuffs that tethered her to the interrogation table. She only had one though racing in her mind.

'Damn you, Harpy.'

* * *

 **[1]** Laurel's costume is basically a leather jacket, leather pants, and one of Helena's old, slightly more concealing mask. This is not her permanent costume. It's kind of like the MCU Peter Parker's suit before Iron Man gave him a better suit (only it nicer than the underoos).

 **[2]** This is the nightstick moment I promised

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Reviews:

MoonlightCove: Again, really sorry for the wait! Yah.. I actually tried watching bits of Arrow Season 5 for Artemis too, but I was severely disappointed (probably because the Young Justice Artemis was on of my favorite characters).

Guest: Thankyou! Sorry for the long wait!

KarmaxThexDrug: I'm super sorry about the late update. Nyssa will be returning in the story later, and that's all I can say :) .

CptAwesome: Thankyou, so much! Sorry for the wait!

* * *

 **I'm going to keep this as short as possible. I'm truly sorry for another long wait, but 2016 was just a shit year in general. Aside from the blatant reason, there was a massive shift in my family dynamics that I had to concentrate on and writing during that time was too difficult. There's also the fact that Felicity's story was supposed to be next, but I had to can that entire story since they showed Felicity's dad on Arrow. This resulted in me rewriting that plot and a fair amount in the overall story and why the "next time:" from last time was so wrong and isn't here anymore. I promise I will update within the normal two-week timespan next time because you people have suffered through too many unscheduled hiatuses. I'm really sorry.**

 **Ok… now I have to geek out for a few lines. Sara is the captain of the Waverider, YES! I'm sorry Nyssara, but Sanvers is my new otp, but I still love you! I'm kind of annoyed with how Flash handled both Iris and Caitlin this year, but I'm hoping they put Caitlin Frost on Legends, that would be awesome! I'm so annoyed I actually was debating writing a small Frost spinoff, but then I went… wait I have this story that I haven't touched... Crap! Better update! Oops!**

 **Thank you for reading and please review.**

 **Also one more thank you for everyone who is super patient and understanding for waiting this long!**

 **5/24/17**


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